Giving the background, the sources said the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pakistan International Airlines Company Limited (PIACL) fell vacant as a result of orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on September 3, 2018 in HRN No 11827-S of 2018 wherein appointment of Musharraf Rasool Cyan, ex-CEO, PIACL was set aside with immediate effect.
The cabinet in its decision of October 18, 2018 approved that PIA Board of Directors shall elect a member of the Board to act as the CEO of the PIACL, till the time that the federal government appoints a CEO on regular basis. In pursuance of the Cabinet decision, the PIACL Board in its meeting held on October 26, 2018 elected Air Marshal Arshad Malik, as an acting CEO, PIACL.
PIACL advertised the position of CEO in the newspapers on January 8, 2019 to fill the vacancy on regular basis as per schedule of the Public Sector Companies (appointment of Chief Executive) Guidelines, 2015.
Aviation Division, in its advertisement sought candidates with expertise in military operations, warfare and naval operations among other disciplines to fill the spot of its CChief Executive Officer (CEO) In response, total 34 applications were received. Board Selection Committee (BSC) comprising of five Board members constituted by PIACL Board of Directors was assigned the task to scrutinize the received applications. The committee interviewed 23 out of 24 eligible candidates on February 8, 2019 as one did not appear. The committee in its meeting held on February 11, 2019 finalized five candidates with the highest score for consideration of the Board. After thorough evaluation, the Board recommended following three candidates in order of merit: (I) Air Marshal Arshad Mahmood Malik;(II) Dr Aamer Ahmed and (III) Syed Faisal Ilyas Siddiqui.
According to Rule 5(2) of the Public Sector Companies (Corporate Governance) Rules, 2013 read with Public Sector Companies (Appointment of Chief Executive) Guidelines, 2015, concurrence of the Government is a pre-requisite for appointment of Chief Executive Officer in Public Sector Organisations.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has cleared all the three candidates. However, Intelligence Bureau (IB) has cleared Air Marshal Arshad Mahmood Malik and Dr Aamer Ahmed as the third candidate Syed Faisal Ilyas Siddiqui could not be traced at the given permanent address at Karachi.
As far as pay and perks for the post of CEO, PIACL are concerned, those will be determined by the Board of Directors of PIACL in terms of section 188 of the Companies Act, 2017. Though, the appointment of Air Marshal Arshad Mehmood is certain, Aviation Division has left it to the Cabinet to select any of the three candidates.
