Firdous Ashiq Awan accuses past rulers of destroying PIA

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan has criticised past rulers of destroying Pakistan International Airline (PIA), ARY News reported on Friday.

Addressing to media in Islamabad, the PM’s special assistant said that political appointments and using PIA for private visits by past rulers have ruined the national flag career.

“Government has decided to retrieve all money from past rulers for using national career airline for private visits between 2008 to 2018,” she added.

She further said rulers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) used PIA like Qingqi rickshaw and pilots of the PIA were performing the duty of personal drivers.

Firdous Ashiq Awan said the decision by past rulers to divert flights to Sukkur had caused loss of Rs5.5 million to PIA.

“At least 50 VVIP flights of PIA between 2012 to 2017 which caused loss of Rs600 million loss to the national exchequer,” she said, adding that the austerity measures of Prime Minister Imran Khan have reduced the expenses of PIA by 20 percent.

Taking aim at PPP, Firdous Awan said that the provincial government has failed in providing basic facilities to the people of Sindh.

Talking over the Sehwan city, which she visited last night, the PTI leader lamented that people of Sehwan had been denied of their basic needs of clean drinking water and health facilities, adding that this is constituency of Chief Minister Sindh Sayed Murad Ali Shah and she had astonished to see deteriorating condition of this sacred town.

She said that on July 25, the nation completely rejected those elements who looted national exchequer

She regretted that two political parties by playing the game of taking turns in power badly exploited the masses.