Prime Minister given green light to privatization of PIA
In Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave the green light
on Wednesday for the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
before June 15.
Continuing the policies of the previous administration, the PML-N
government progressed with the pending work of the Special Investment
Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the interim setup.
Committee
established to expedite privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
Former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who had initially refrained
from participating in economic discussions, finally joined the meetings
alongside Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is speculated to become the Special Assistant
to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance.
The Privatization Secretary briefed the Prime Minister on the
possibility of privatizing PIA by June 15, contingent upon the timely
implementation of a scheme to divide the national airline into two entities and
transfer its Rs622 billion debt to a new holding company. However, this plan
hinges on obtaining no-objection-certificates from PIA's creditors.
Legal
procedures completed for PIA privatization: Privatization Minister
The Prime Minister instructed the Privatization Secretary to
expedite the process of selling off PIA even further.
PIA, as of 2022, ranked as Pakistan’s third-highest public sector
loss-making entity, requiring Rs11.5 billion monthly solely for debt servicing.
Source: Express Tribune