PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) CEO Arshad Malik has challenged a Sindh High Court decision that prevented him from performing his duties until he appears before the bench on January 22, local media have reported.

Malik filed a petition at the court appealing against its decision, which was made on January 1, arguing that he had been lawfully appointed chief executive and that the move had paralysed the affairs of the national carrier.

Malik was appointed chief executive on April 2, 2019. As previously reported, a petition challenging his position was filed by Safdar Anjum, general secretary of the airline’s Senior Staff Association (SASA). Anjum believes that Malik lacks any relevant education and experience for the job.

Besides preventing Malik from working, the two-member bench stopped the airline from hiring, firing or transferring employees and from buying or selling assets worth over PKR10 million rupees (USD64,500).

In his petition, which was filed by Pakistani lawyer and television personality Naeem Bukhari, Malik called Anjum's allegations against him baseless and said that the court had made a unilateral decision without hearing his position.