Caretaker Prime Minister assures to provide all available support
to struggling PIA
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar announced on
Monday that the government will extend all available support to Pakistan
International Airlines (PIA) until the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) is
successfully privatized.
In the review meeting of PIA's financial affairs, chaired by
Kakar, the interim Prime Minister instructed relevant authorities to expedite
the privatization process of PIA and ensure its swift completion. He emphasized
the need for regular updates on the progress.
PIA's
financial matters to be transferred to Privatization Commission
During the meeting, detailed discussions were held regarding
the progress of PIA's privatization, and the financial status of the national
carrier was presented. Kakar, while presiding over the meeting, stressed that
privatizing the loss-making SOEs at the earliest would prevent the wastage of
taxpayer funds.
This development follows PIA's suspension of flight
operations, with 77 flights canceled due to a fuel supply interruption by
Pakistan State Oil (PSO), as confirmed by a PIA spokesperson on Sunday. The
spokesperson noted that out of 52 international and 29 domestic flights
scheduled for Sunday, only four were able to depart.
Privatization
of PIA-owned Scribe Hotel in the pipeline
The spokesperson added that the PIA administration was in
constant communication with PSO, but payments couldn't be processed due to bank
closures on Sunday. The spokesperson revealed that the national carrier had
already paid over Rs220 million to PSO for the weekend, and evening flights
were expected to resume as soon as today's credit line became available.
Alternative travel arrangements were being made for affected passengers.
Once a profitable State-Owned Enterprise, PIA has faced a
prolonged liquidity crisis, leading to a decline in market share over the
years. This crisis has been exacerbated by the airline's frequent reliance on
government bailouts, which has become increasingly unsustainable due to the
government's fiscal constraints.
Source: Business Recorder