Ex-Army Chief’s brother Javed Bajwa steps down from PIA key post over ‘fake degree’

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines’s (PIA) Deputy Station Manager in Birmingham Iqbal Javed Bajwa has reportedly stepped down after his educational certificate was found fake.  

Javed Bajwa is reportedly the brother of former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

PIA had initiated an inquiry into Mr Bajwa’s intermediate certificate which had been submitted as part of his employment record. Upon verification from the board, the certificate was found to be ‘fake’ after which PIA requested Mr Bajwa to resign from his post, the source said.

Sources stated that despite the evidence, he was “initially reluctant to resign.” He was “ultimately pressured” to submit his resignation through family intervention after the board’s findings.

A spokesperson for PIA said the airlines had issued a show-cause notice to Mr Bajwa on August 30, giving him seven days to prove the authenticity of his educational document.

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Mr Bajwa’s intermediate certificate bearing roll number 25703, was declared ‘bogus’ by the Board of Intermediate and Sec­­ondary Education, Lahore, the notice issued to him by the administration said. The spokesperson told a TV channel that top officials had sought Mr Bajwa’s resignation.

Notably, Jawaid is the eldest of five brothers of former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa. He began his career with the PIA in the Rawalpindi office in 1977.

Jawaid, who acquired British citizenship in the late 1980s, was over 73 years old at the time of his forced resignation from national flag carrier.

He “received significant leniency” despite the revelation of his fake degree, allowing him to retain all financial benefits from PIA. In contrast, other national flag carrier employees found with fake degrees faced termination and were subjected to legal action by the Federal Investigation Agency.

In his tenure, the former army chief, and his sister-in-law, Asma Tariq Bajwa, also served as the head of PIA’s Human Resources Department.