Privatization of PIA challenged in Lahore High Court
The Lahore High
Court has directed the federal secretary for privatization to decide
objections raised in two petitions challenging the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Justice Malik Awais Khalid issued separate
orders while disposing of petitions filed by lawyer Nabeel Javed Kahloon and
Hadayatullah Khan, president of Peoples Unity, the PIA employees’ union.
During the hearing, Advocate Kahloon,
representing both petitioners, contended that the privatisation process was not
in accordance with the law and argued that the matter should have been placed
before the Council of Common Interest (CCI). He maintained that constitutional
requirements had not been fulfilled.
The counsel further argued that PIA could not
issue fresh shares as no legal amendment had been made and the relevant bill
had already been withdrawn. He also claimed that the airline was being sold at
a nominal price, estimating that only Rs4 billion would be transferred to the
public exchequer, despite decades of substantial public investment in the
national carrier. He described the sale as a matter of significant public
interest.
Read More Court
rejects petition against PIA privatization
Additional Attorney General Nasar Ahmad Mirza
objected to the maintainability of the petitions, arguing that the matter
involved a policy decision and was therefore not justiciable. He clarified that
no fresh shares were being issued and that the government was only transferring
existing shares of the company.
Advocate Kahloon responded that the legal and
constitutional objections raised in the petitions had not been addressed by any
competent forum. The additional attorney general suggested that the objections
be remitted to the privatization secretary for consideration after providing
the petitioners with an opportunity of personal hearing, to which the petitioners
raised no objection, provided the process adhered to principles of fairness and
transparency.
Assuring the court of compliance with the law,
the federal law officer stated that the privatization secretary would decide
the matter accordingly.
Justice Khalid referred the petitions to the privatization
secretary with directions to hear all concerned parties and issue a
well-reasoned order strictly in accordance with the law within two weeks. The
court also directed both petitioners to appear before the secretary on January
26 at 11am.
Read More LHC
grants stay on dismissal of PIA senior flight steward
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on
Privatisation (CCoP) has approved a Rs135 billion bid from an Arif Habib
Group-led consortium for a 75 per cent stake in PIA. The bid is approximately
35 per cent higher than the government’s reference price of Rs115 billion, with
the consortium also committing to invest an additional Rs80 billion to Rs125
billion for fleet modernisation and operational restructuring.
Source:
Dawn