LAHORE - PIA management has cancelled foreign posting orders of four officers after PML (N) backed Air League of PIA employees staged protest demonstrations across the country at all international airports against said orders announced by Foreign Posting Board few days back, said spokesman of Air League on Thursday.
Joint Action Committee of PIA staff has also endorsed the protest of Air League. We have taken all the associations of PIA employees on board, said Ahmad Butt President of Air League Lahore chapter. When this scribe contacted Pakistan Airlines Pilot Association (PALPA) President Sohail Baloch, president of Society of Aircraft Engineers Pakistan (SEAP) Shoukat Jamshed and President Peoples Unity (CBA), Sajid Gujjar said that they endorse the decision of Air League.
Sources at Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIAP) Lahore said that dozens of PIA employees and officers of PIA gathered in the office of Station Manager and protested in favour of their demands. Charged workers headed by Ahmad Butt chanted slogans against the board decision and demanded withdrawal of the orders of foreign posting. They were protesting against the orders of Ali Abbas, Frnaz Ch., Sohail Mehmood and Ishtiaq Lone.
Sources said that Ahmad Butt during protest made a telephone call to MD PIA and warned him that if these orders were not cancelled within three days, PIA employees and officers would go on strike across the country. The same orders were scheduled to be issued on Thursday but after the protest of the Air League could not be issued. It is pertinent to mention here that PIA management had posted Ishtiaq Lone as station manager Manchester and Ali Abbas Shah as Deputy Station Manager at the same station few days back. But sources said that Ishtiaq posting was made against services rules of PIA since at least three year remaining service of the candidate was mandatory for foreign posting. But in the case of Ishtiaq his remaining service is only 15 months after which he would be retired.
It is worth mentioning here that Ishtiaq was in group six and was promoted to group seven also in violation of the rules.