ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Thursday ordered an inquiry against Ghulam Sarwar Khan – the ex-minister of the then prime minister Imran Khan’s administration – for his “irresponsible and speculative” statement that led to financial woes of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and triggered a ban from several countries including the US and the UK.
The national flag carrier found itself in a precarious situation following the tragic crash of flight PK-8303 in Karachi on May 22, 2020. The incident was compounded by the shocking revelation by the then-aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, who announced suspension of 262 airline pilots suspected of cheating on their examinations.
In a dramatic session in parliament, Khan revealed that 150 pilots employed by the national airline were operating with questionable licenses.
Former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan arrested in Islamabad
The federal cabinet, which met here with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair, was informed that the aviation minister’s statement was “irresponsible and speculative” which dented the country and the PIA’s reputation besides bringing serious consequences to the national kitty.
With this, the cabinet formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the reasons behind Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s speculative statement, to put an end to such irresponsible statements.
“The committee will also estimate financial losses to PIA and exchequer following Sarwar’s statement,” said a statement issued by the PM Office.
Meanwhile, the cabinet also ratified the charter of Middle East Green Initiative – a collaborative initiative spearheaded by Saudi Arabia aimed at addressing the effects of climate change in the region – to restore 200 million hectares of land and plant an astounding 50 billion trees. The Ministry of Climate Change, in a briefing to the federal cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said that Pakistan was among the founding members of the Charter and therefore the ministry had recommended the forum to accord its approval.
The cabinet approved the Off-the-Grid Captive Power Plants Levy Ordinance, 2025 on the recommendation of the Petroleum Division.
The federal cabinet approved the agreement between the Government of Pakistan and the European Union on the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce regarding the distribution of tariff rates quota.
The cabinet approved the reorganization of Accountability Court-III, Islamabad and its conversion into Special Court (CNS-III), Islamabad, on the recommendation of the Islamabad High Court and the proposal of the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The federal cabinet also approved the additional charge of chairman Karachi Port Trust, Rear Admiral Habib ur Rehman, for a maximum of two months.
The prime minister issued directives to complete the process of appointing a regular chairman of Karachi Port Trust immediately.
The cabinet approved a 25 percent reduction in the provincial quota in medical and dental colleges managed by the federal government.
The initiative was taken in the context of an extremely low quota for students domiciled in the Islamabad Capital Territory in provincial medical and dental colleges so that students domiciled in Islamabad could get better opportunities for education in such institutions. On the recommendation of the Rightsizing Committee of the federal government, the cabinet also approved an amendment to the Rules of Business, 1973 regarding the merger of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and the Ministry of Frontier Affairs. The cabinet has ratified the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises held on January 17, 2025.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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