Senate body calls for honouring commitments by PIA
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—The Senate Standing Committee on Defence met in the Parliament House here today under the Chairmanship of Senator Nisar Ahmed Memon. The meting was held on a requisition by Senators Mrs. Rukhsana Zuberi, Mouhim Khan Baloch and Farhatullah Khan Babar under Rule 163 (4) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 1988 regarding non implementation of various assurances given by the PIA management.
The Committee was told that as per PIAs commitment, Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) was installed on F-27 Aircraft for operation to Muscat and flights are operational on that route and commitment has been met. However, for the operation to Sharjah, another costly instrument i.e. Required Navigational Performance-5 (RNP-5) was required to be installed as a pre-condition for operating F-27 to Sharjah from the coastal areas of Balochistan. The PIA management approached the General Civil Aviation Authority of UAE for grant of waiver for operation of PIAs F-27 Aircrafts for a period of six months only which was refused by GCAA of UAE as such flights are not operational to Sharjah.
Chairman PIA, Mr. Tariq Kirmani informed the Committee that the national carrier, as per its business plan to modernize the airline intends to purchase seven new ATR42-500 aircrafts fitted with TCAS and RNP-5. He further said that PIA is planning to get the two such aircrafts from the manufacturers on lease before the delivery of 7 news ATRs next year. These aircrafts will be made operative on Turbat - Sharjah and Turbat - Dubai as well as Gilgit to provide facilities to people of Northern Areas by the end of this year. He informed the Committee that PIA will also get planes on lease for all Umrah and Hajj flights. The Committee however, asked the Board of Directors of PIA to evaluate the recommendations made by the Committee Members regarding Hajj and Umrah operations.
The Members of the Committee noted with satisfaction the assurance of Chairman PIA to honour the management's earlier commitment to operate PIA flights to Sharjah and Dubai from Turbat and Gilgit. The Chairman of the Committee directed the PIA management to ensure that any information provided to the Committee should be well thought of and should not appear to be concealment of the facts from the Committee. The Committee appreciated the good work done by Senator Mrs. Rukhsana Zuberi by her research on PIA information and it directed the PIA management to provide the copies of log books of parts being fitted on sold Boeings for information of the Committee Members and record.
The meeting was also attended by Senators Mushahid Hussain, Kamil Ali Agha, Mouhim Khan Baloch, Farhatullah Babar, Kamran Murtaza and Mrs. Rukhsana Zuberi. MOS for Defence, Mr. Zahid Hamid, Chairman PIA, Mr. Tariq Kirmani and senior officers of the Ministry of Defence and PIA were also present.