KARACHI: First Officer Asad Ilyas, an ex-PIA pilot affected by high handedness of Arshad Malik, former PIA chief, passed away on Monday morning after a Cardiac arrest. He left three daughters and a widow.

Asad Ilyas had 15 years of experience flying the national carrier but was unduly and illegally sacked by Arshad Malik on 3rd January 2019 under his so-called fake degree scandal, while before his death he was driving an Uber taxi to earn for his family. According to his friends and colleagues, he was in bad shape and no one came to rescue him. After the degree controversy, he was badly shattered and broken. Shahzad Aziz, another PIA pilot affected by the Malik degree scandal while talking to the daily “National Courier” stated that Asad Ilyas was in contact with me, he was badly shattered, looking for a job. He was one of the victims of what happened in PIA in the last 3 years, how pilots who were our colleagues suffered. “He was looking for a job. He sent me a letter issued by CAA which cleared him of the charge of a fake degree. But PIA didn’t take him back. Those who started the action of victimizing our pilot colleagues with ulterior motives will surely pay the price. They caused irreparable damage to the airline,” Shahzad Aziz said. The irony was that F/o Asad Ilyas was living in Karachi but the PIA manipulators on 11 October 2022 filed an FIR No. 21/2022 with FIA anti-corruption cell in Lahore. This FIR was filed by Air Commodore Amir Altaf; Chief of the HR department (CHRO) against 113 employees of the PIA for further harassment under the anti-corruption charges.

 The factual position as stated by Shahzad Aziz was that on 26-01-2019 soon after 23 days after his termination letter was issued by PIA management, the said letter was suspended by the Civil Court in Lahore. On the other hand on 4 October 2019 CAA also restored his Cockpit Crew License by confessing that after verification of his educational certificates which were found to be correct the DGCAA released the CPL-2583 License of Mr. Asad Ilyas. This letter was addressed to the Director of Flight Operations, PIA, JIAP Karachi. However, even then the former CEO, PIA Arshad Malik did not take him back on the job. Asad Ilyas had repeatedly requested Arshad Malik but he did not agree.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 14 2022

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