By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Four local companies have emerged as bidders in the long-awaited privatization of the debt-ridden national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, with the process set to conclude early next month, officials told a Senate committee on Friday amid assurances that the airline’s name, flag and domestic ownership would remain intact.
The disclosure came during a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Defence, which also heard details of PIA’s suspended operations in Europe and the United Kingdom, as well as concerns over airport security and the strategic neglect of remote airfields in the country’s north.
Chaired by Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood, the meeting focused heavily on the airline’s overhaul, a centerpiece of the government’s efforts to stem financial losses at state-owned enterprises. Defence Secretary Lt. Gen. Muhammad Ali informed the panel that Arif Habib Limited, Fauji Fertiliser Company, Air Blue and the Lucky Group had participated in the bidding.
All four companies had requested relaxations in the terms and conditions set by the government, the secretary said. But officials emphasized firm red lines: The name of the national airline will not be changed, and the national flag will not be removed from the planes, ownership will remain with Pakistani nationals, and no foreign individual or entity will be allowed to participate in the bidding process as majority shareholder.
The committee was also updated on the fallout from PIA’s halted flights to the United Kingdom and Europe, a suspension that has compounded the carrier’s woes. In 2018, the airline operated 1,420 flights on those routes, generating revenue of Rs36 billion against expenditures of Rs39 billion. The following year, operations dropped to 478 flights, with revenue of Rs15 billion and costs of Rs13 billion. PIA maintained its European schedule until 2022, the defence secretary said, but the shutdown has since inflicted financial losses of Rs13 billion while damaging the airline’s international goodwill and reputation.
Senator Mahmood, the committee chairman, called for strict measures to curb misuse of PIA services and ordered an immediate end to free air travel privileges. He further instructed that any unlawful union activities within PIA be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Beyond the airline’s privatization, the panel delved into the operations of the Airports Security Force, which oversees 14 active airports and an additional 16 nonoperational ones — a setup described as an extra burden on the force. The ASF’s personnel are 10 percent female and 90 percent male.
Senator Saleem Mandviwalla urged upgrades to passenger and baggage screening systems at airports. Senator Mahmood stressed the need for modern technology and directed the introduction of a marking system on boarding passes for suspected passengers. He also highlighted weak security at smaller airports, particularly in Peshawar and Balochistan, and pressed for immediate improvements. The discussion extended to the absence of PIA flights at Chitral airport, in the mountainous northwest.
Senator Mahmood underscored Chitral’s strategic value, noting that it links Pakistan to sensitive border areas and could open routes to Central Asian countries through Tajikistan if a connecting tunnel were built. He directed authorities to resume PIA services there immediately, with at least one flight arranged at the earliest, and demanded a compliance report within seven days. Separately, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb briefed his Saudi counterpart on Pakistan’s push to privatize PIA and airports, signaling international interest in the reforms.
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