Maurice McGregor  (Copyright © Shaukat Husain)

PIA management team having tea at Karachi Airport circa 1955. Gentlemen seen in this photo are (left to right) Qazi Afzal Husain, unknown, Nasir Ghani and Maurice McGregor. McGregor was PIA's first General Manager, the post equivalent to Managing Director today in PIA. He was a Canadian aviation pioneer and a senior executive in Canadian Pacific Airlines when he was selected to run newly-created PIA in 1954. McGregor's selection was made after his interview with a selection board consisting of Secretary Ministry of Defence and the Director General Civil Aviation, the interview was held in Karachi. McGregor joined PIA in April 1954 and under his management the embryonic PIA launched Karachi to Dacca (now Dhaka) Super Constellation service on June 7, 1954 and on February 1, 1955 started international service from Karachi to London via Cairo with Super Constellation aircraft. McGregor found great difficulty in getting along with the government and specially the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Department, and had to leave PIA in the end of 1956. Qazi Afzal Husain was one of those Pakistani aviation pioneers who moved from Orient Airways to PIA when it was founded. He left PIA in 1974, after serving the airline in many capacities including as the General Manager UK & Ireland

Capt. Moinuddin Quraishi  (Yawar Karim Collection)

Capt. Moinuddin Quraishi talking to a Syrian military officer aboard a PIA Lockheed L-1049C Super Constellation. The officer was member of delegation led by Syrian President Shukri al-Kuwatly visiting Pakistan in January 1957

First Officer Maliha Sami  (Copyright © PIA)

First Officer Maliha Sami waves goodbye as she takes-off on her first scheduled flight in year 1990. The historic flight, operated with Fokker F27 Friendship Mark 400 (AP-ALW) on Karachi-Panjgur-Turbat-Gwadar sector, made Maliha the first Pakistani woman pilot to operate a scheduled PIA flight and entered her name into Pakistan's aviation history.

Coming from a conservative family in Quetta, Baluchistan, the tall stately Maliha, exudes a supremely confident air about her. A bright, articulate woman, Maliha as cadet pilot scored 80 percent marks and secured fourth position in the twelve-week course conducted at PIA's Training Centre in Karachi.

A keen flyer, Maliha had earlier worked for Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for six years, where she flew small, twin-engine aircraft as a navigational co-pilot. During her tenure at CAA, Maliha attended several refresher courses, with comprehensive training programmes, in the United States of America.

Maliha acquired her initial flying training from a local flying club in Quetta, where she also learnt to fly a glider - "a most exciting experience", according to Maliha