Supreme Court withdraws order regarding ban on PIA privatization
The Supreme Court has withdrawn its
earlier order prohibiting the government from privatizing Pakistan
International Airlines (PIA) without its approval. The decision came after a six-member Constitutional Bench
overturned a six-year-old ruling by former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, who had
issued a suo motu notice regarding the privatization of state-owned entities.
In a brief hearing on Thursday, the
bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, dismissed the case.
This ruling comes shortly after the
European aviation regulator permitted PIA to resume its flight operations to
Europe after a four-year hiatus.
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Failed Privatization Attempt
The government’s initial attempt at
privatizing PIA last month was unsuccessful, with a single bid significantly
lower than expected. The Blue World City consortium offered Rs10 billion for a
60% stake, far below the Privatization Commission’s minimum price of Rs85.03
billion. The bid was rejected by the commission, and the Cabinet Committee on
Privatization endorsed the decision.
Following this setback, Federal
Privatization Minister Abdul Aleem Khan suggested that the government may look
into selling PIA without any liabilities attached.
New Interim CEO Appointed
In a separate development, PIA
appointed Khurram Mushtaq as its interim CEO. The decision was made during a
board of directors' meeting on Thursday. Mushtaq will assume his new role once
the current CEO, Air Vice Marshal Amir Hayat, completes his tenure, though the
exact end date of Hayat's term was not disclosed.
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A PIA spokesperson noted that
Mushtaq is a senior executive with extensive experience in aviation, having
previously served as head of commercial, airport services, flight services, and
security and vigilance.
Source: Dawn