Pakistan's national carrier sacks its chief operations officer

Pakistan's national carrier has sacked its chief operations officer, saying he failed to achieve objectives for which he had been hired, a media report said today.

Zia Qadir Qureshi, the Pakistan International Airlines chief operations officer, was sacked on Friday because he could not perform his duties according to work standards of the airline, Dawn reported, citing sources.

They said Qureshi had also failed to achieve objectives for which he had been hired.

PIA spokesperson Mashhood Tajwar confirmed that Qureshi's contract had been terminated, the paper said.

The Auditor General's office termed Qureshi's appointment an "undue favour" and called for the immediate termination of his services and an action against those who had hired him, it added.

Citing sources, the paper said Qureshi was hired on a contract at Rs 15 lakh per month on June 5, 2017. 

In the termination letter, issued by PIA's Chief Human Resources Officer Asma Bajwa who herself is a contractual employee, told Qureshi that "continuation of your appointment beyond the age of superannuation in Oct 2017 was subject to bi-annual review of your performance".

The sources said Qureshi was called twice for performance review meetings but he could not attend them.