Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan was behind the removal of Hassan Nasir Jamy from the post of secretary aviation, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Friday, quoting aviation sources.

The sources claimed that there were differences between the federal minister and the secretary over the statistics about the pilots. Jamy’s controversial statement in the court about the suspected licences of 82 pilots was the main reason for his transfer, the sources added.

The federal aviation minister was still sticking to his statement that licences of 262 pilots were dubious, saying he still stood by his remarks. 

Secretary Aviation Hassan Nasir Jamy was removed from his post on December 1 and was appointed as Secretary Privatisation Division.

Shoukat Ali, a BS-22 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service, has now been appointed as Secretary Aviation Division a few days ago.

According to the notifications, “Shoukat Ali, a BS-22 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service, presently posted under Government of Punjab, is transferred and posted as Secretary Aviation Division with immediate effect and until further orders. It further said Hassan Nasir Jamy, a BS-22 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service, presently posted as Secretary Aviation Division, is transferred and posted as Secretary Privatisation Division with immediate effect and until further orders.”

Also on Thursday, the European Commission has decided to retain the ban on Pakistan International Airlines operations in its member countries and asked the country’s aviation authorities to remove safety deficiencies and improve the whole process of issuing licences to commercial pilots.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had suspended the authorisation for the PIA to operate in European Union member countries for six months in July 2020.

The EASA ban was soon followed by similar action by the UK and US aviation authorities, crippling the PIA which was already suffering in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis. The EU had also put Pakistan on notice showing concern over the issue of pilots’ licences citing the aviation minister’s speech on the floor of parliament that one-third of Pakistani pilots had suspicious licences.

The EU Air Safety Committee (ASC) met on November 17 and 18 in Brussels to update the list of airlines whose operations had been banned by the European Commission. Following the unanimous opinion of the ASC, the European Commission formally adopted on Thursday a regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 474/2006 of March 22, 2006, establishing the list of air carriers, which are subject to an operating ban within the EU.

A letter sent to former secretary of aviation Hasan Nasir Jamy said the situation of the air carriers certified in Pakistan was examined during the ASC meeting. An excerpt of the regulation with the recitals pertaining to Pakistan was attached with the letter.

The European Commission reported to the ASC about the technical meetings held on July 9 and September 25 and the numerous correspondences received between the end of June and November from the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).