AGP Points Out Serious Irregularities in the Appointment of CEO PIA & Other Officials

Audit General of Pakistan has raised serious objections in the appointment of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other senior officers in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).  These appointments caused PIA heavy financial losses. CEO PIA only spends 47 percent of his time in office, said AGP.

Commercial Audit Department Asstt Auditor Officer Zeeshan Raza sent several letters regarding the illegal appointment of CEO and other offices in PIA and suggested the removal of these personnel with immediate effect (WEF).

Auditor General, in his letter, said that appointment of Musharaf Rasool Cyan as CEO PIA was irregular and that as CEO and he has misused Rs. 160 million of PIACL resources.

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In his letter,  the AGP said that Musharaf Rasool’s appointment as CEO PIA is in violation of the advertisement published to fill the vacancy.

“In the advertisement, an experience of 25 years was demanded with 10 years in a leading position or as a senior manager at any international airline. But the appointed CEO does not fulfill the requirement,” the letter stated.

 The Auditor observed the following irregularities in his appointment.

1. The applicant was not shortlisted by the Board of Director (BOD).
2. The required qualification and experience for the post were not evaluated by the BOD.
3. The preliminary interviews of the candidate Musharraf Rasool were not conducted by BOD as per rules. Advisor Aviation Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan rarely attended the interviewing process. As the Candidate had worked with Advisor in KPK.
4. The candidate’s academic qualification does not meet the criteria of the post advertised.
5. Candidate does not meet required experience of the advertised post.
6. There are clear discrepancies in his date of birth mentioned in his CNIC and Matriculation Certificate, as per personal policy Manual (PPM) of PIACL, hundreds of PIACL employees have already been terminated from service on that ground. DOB on CNIC is 4 November 1967, and on Matriculation Certificate it is 12 March 1967.
7. The appointment of Musharraf Rasool was made totally in violation of SECP guidelines for the appointment of a CEO.

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The AGP not only objected on Musharraf Rasool’s qualifications but also highlighted the salary and other perk issues as well. His salary is 4 times higher than the previous MD/CEO of the airline. On salary and perks the auditor raised the following objections.

1. Musharraf Rasool is drawing a heavy salary of Rs 2 million per month, whereas previously appointed MD/CEO used to draw an average salary of Rs 0.5 million. This is a violation of the Special Government pay Grade M- 1 rules.
2. As per the agreement, current CEO PIA’s total entitlement of domestic and international tickets is 35 annually. But in 7 months he has used 66 tickets – 37 for himself and 29 for his family members.
3. During his appointment of 210 days, he was on travel or tour for 98 days it is almost 47 percent of his job time.
4. During 210 days Musharaff obtained 61 tickets for business travel or tours.

The audit recommends termination of Mushraff Rasool Cyan’s services without any further delay. Without any further payment of salary, other benefits like a car and irregular use of tickets should be recovered immediately. The Auditor suggested to forward the case of Advisor to PM on Aviation Sardar Mehtab for further investigation from an independent agency.

Irregular Appointment of Chief Operating Officer Zia Qadir Qureshi

The audit report said that Zia Qadir Qureshi was appointed at the age of 59 years and 9 months just 3 months before attaining the age of superannuation in October 2017.

He was he redeployed in the airline by PM on the request of PIA with conditions to submit Key Performance indicators (KPI) for PIA. But PIA failed to submit this KPI report .

This shows that the management extended undue favor to him at the cost of PIA and the right of qualified candidates was compromised.

The Auditor suggested terminating his services immediately.

Irregular Appointment of Chief System Officer Kashif Rehman

Audit report said that at the time of the appointment of Kashif Rehman as Chief System Officer there was no vacancy at PIA organogram.  He also does not fulfill the required qualifications.

“Kashif Rehman joined PIA on 29 December 2017 as CSO whereas the corporate job description for the post of CSO was made on 15 February 2018. After 48 days of his joining in the company,” the letter said.

Kashif Rehman was given the responsibilities of Director IT which required Phd or MS in IT but he does not fulfill this criteria.

Instead of working in his office Kashif Rehman traveled extensively. In his 83 days of work, Kashif travel 46 days and worked for only 47 days.

PIA paid his mobile phone bill of Rs. 342,608 and his salary is 1.3 million per month. The total loss caused by the appointment of Kashif Rehman is Rs. 118.970 million.

The AGP also suggested the termination of Kashif Rehman without any further delay.

Auditor General also objected to the appointment of Asstt manager Audit Javed Jameel as he was appointed illegally. Because at the same time Jameel was also working as GM EOBI and drawing a salary.