- The Prime Minister said the government will support PIA until privatization is completed.
- Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakkar wants regular compliance reports.
- PIA has been a loss making SOE for the last several years.
A day after flight operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were again hit by the worst-ever fuel crisis, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakkar on Monday directed officials concerned to expedite the process of privatization of the national flag carrier. Gave.
During the last few weeks, PIA’s flight operations have been severely affected due to non-availability of fuel amid the ongoing financial crisis being faced by the national carrier and many flights have been cancelled.
At least 26 flights from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Bahawalpur, Multan, Gwadar and other cities were canceled after Pakistan State Oil (PSO) reduced fuel supply to PIA on Sunday (yesterday), sources said. Are.
Chairing a review meeting on PIA’s financial crisis, the Prime Minister stressed on finalizing the privatization process within the stipulated time.
PM Kakkar demanded regular compliance reports to be submitted to him in this regard.
He said the government will continue to support PIA until privatization is completed. He said that state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which were facing financial losses, would be privatized to save the national exchequer.
The Prime Minister was briefed about the financial position of PIA.
In August, 2023, the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) approved placing PIA in the active list of privatization after the amendment approved by the Parliament and also gave its approval to appoint financial advisor for the transaction of PIA’s Roosevelt Hotel, New York. Gave consent.
According to top official sources, PIA was converted from a corporation registered under the Companies Ordinance, 1984, to a public limited company.
The legislative process was therefore initiated through the PIAC (Conversion) Act, 2016, passed by a joint session of Parliament in 2016, under which, PIAC was converted into a public limited company, namely Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL).
However, a major amendment i.e. ‘Explanation’ to sub-section 4 of Section 4 was incorporated by Parliament in the said Act, prohibiting the Federal Government from transferring management control over the airline business of PIACL while such entity At least 51% percent of the shares were retained. ,
