It is a sad reality that in some countries, such as a “Banana Republic,” a Parliamentary Committee would intervene to rehabilitate over 840 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees who submitted fake degrees at the time of recruitment. The members of this committee have taken an oath to protect the constitution and uphold the Rule of Law, and should not be seen as protecting individuals who committed forgery, which is a criminal offense. The parliament’s primary role is to legislate laws and ensure that the rights of other citizens, who are more qualified and deserving, are not violated by those who do not meet the merit criteria or lack basic minimum qualifications for a job in an organization funded by taxpayers.
It is the parliament’s duty to serve as a watchdog, adhering to the oath they have taken to the Constitution, rather than protecting 840 criminals who committed forgery and crime by submitting fake degrees during recruitment in an already overstaffed organization. These illegalities in PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) occurred during the period of 2008-2009 and continued thereafter. Pakistan’s aviation industry faces a ban from operation into Europe due to its failure to comply with international safety standards. Poor human resources, nepotism, and cronyism destroy an organization.
Countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, etc., have developed because they invested in human resource development and utilized qualified individuals instead of cronies. The ruling elite and powerful stakeholders in Pakistan need to wake up to the fact that such abuses of power and irregularities have damaged the country’s economy, resulting in a vast number of qualified talents being forced to abandon the country, resulting in brain drain, and bringing it to the brink of collapse. It is time to take action to address these issues.
SALMAN MALIK,
Malaysia.
