Pakistan court bars Uber-owned Careem from calling drivers 'Captains'

A Pakistani court has temporarily banned Uber-owned Careem from referring to its drivers as 'Captains' after an airline pilot lodged a complaint and raised objection to the use of the term for car drivers. In a petition filed before a civil court in Rawalpindi, the pilot alleged that by giving the title of 'Captain' to its drivers, Careem had caused humiliation and disgrace to his job title which he had earned after rigorous training. As per Dawn, the petitioner, Labeeb Ahmed, alleged that he had to bear the brunt of jokes in his life with people confusing his job title with that of Careem captains.

According to his complaint, the rank of a Captain was “attained after going through rigorous education and obtaining a commercial pilot license from the Civil Aviation Authority Pakistan," and the casual use of the term for drivers had disgraced the aviation rank.

The petitioner added that such nomenclature should solely be reserved for a pilot or a third-ranked officer of the armed forces, also known as a commissioned officer. After hearing his arguments, Civil Judge Rawalpindi Rao Ejaz Ahmed Awan temporarily barred Careem from using the phrase 'Careem Captains' for its car drivers. The use of the term has been restricted until the next hearing and the Court has also sought a response from the zonal manager of the company by July 31.

The Dubai-based company Careem, which is a subsidiary of Uber, has been regularly in trouble in Pakistan. In 2019, the private ride-hailing service had to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 to a customer for inflicting 'mental agony' on him. The complainant had alleged that a Careem Captain had put his life and that of his female guests and children in danger by driving in a reckless manner. After raising an objection, he had allegedly left them in the middle of the road during the month of Ramadan when the entire family was fasting.