Summary Dozens of passengers are stranded today in Peshawar
LAHORE (Dunya News) – At least 225 employees of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) have been served show-cause notices in action under Essential Service Act, Dunya News reported Monday.
Tight security has been maintained at different airports across the country.
Sources said that Air Traffic Department’s Rahat, Sajjad Ahmed and Shad Muhammad, Arif from cargo services, Kifait of reservation department, engineering wing’s Kifaitullah, Safa Badshah from finance department and Information Technology (IT) department’s Shafeeq have been served the notices.
However, the employees have refused to accept the notices and announced to approach court in the matter.
On the other hand, dozens of passengers are stranded today as flight operations are suspended on seventh day today.
Several locals who had come to cancel their tickets protested outside the booking office upon refusal.
Main offices of the national airline are closed countrywide and all services including booking and courier are shut. Customers are cornered as private airline have used the situation for their advantage to the fullest by hiking the fares.
Protesting employees have staged sit-ins in different cities including Quetta, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar among other cities.
However in the early hours today it was reported that flight operations at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore were partially restored.
Flight from Islamabad landed at the Lahore airport and returned while four flights left for Saudi Arabia, two for Medina and two for Jeddah, to bring back over one thousand of stranded Umrah pilgrims.
Two more international flights for Dubai and Abu Dhabi are expected to take off from Allama Iqbal International Airport today.
According to the spokesperson for PIA, two Boeing 777 planes reached Islamabad from Saudi Arabia earlier. Flight PK-7330 carried 400 while the other PK-760 transported 325 pilgrims back to the country. Flight carrying only 4 of the pilgrims arrived in Gilgit-Baltistan in the morning however the spokesperson claimed that it was full of passengers.
As government forms a strategy to cope with the extending losses and smooth its way for privatization, Section-144 has been imposed in federal capital’s airport premises for 48 hours.
By the rule book, four or more people cannot get together at a place otherwise law enforcers are bound to arrest the violators under Section-144. Similarly, the law does not permit sit-ins and other demonstrations.
Lahore High Court (LHC) has rejected plea challenging imposition of Essential Service Act on PIA employees.
Justice Shahid Waheed heard the plea that denounced government’s act stating that imposition of Essential Service Act is against the Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the constitution. The act could be imposed if there is a threat to country’s stability otherwise, depriving people of their right to protest is not allowed by the law.
The court threw the plea out stating that the petition did not bear notification of the Essential Service Act.
On the other hand, security at all airports across the country is tight owing to sensitive situation involving Pakistan International Airline and the government.
The issue got intense after killing of two PIA workers on February 2 by unidentified miscreant during protest in Karachi. Rangers and police were present at the protest site however, attacker managed to flee the scene.
Pakistan International Airline is proposed to be privatized in coming months of 2016. However, employees have boycotted work to have the decision reversed. Opposition parties jumped in the matter after the killings and vowed solidarity with the protesters.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief and others paid visits to different protest camps and vowed to support the PIA employees in movement against the government. PTI, pledging support to PIA workers, announced to launch protests. The opposition party leader along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak also joined sit-in protest in Karachi.
JI chief Sirajul Haq while addressing participants of the demonstration had said that the party would not allow Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif become king of the country. He went on to say that the ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has lost the right to rule after innocent bloodshed in Karachi.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was among the criticizers of the torture and baton charge of protesters in Karachi on February 2.
