Govt hits back: Frontline PIA workers leader to be shown the door

Baloch was the frontline character in leading Pakistan International Airline (PIA) workers’ protests against proposed privatization.

PIA employees Tuesday ended their nine-day long strike on Feb 9 spurred by plans to privatise the national carrier, saying their representatives would immediately hold talks with the government.

Airports had been enmeshed in chaos nationwide since the strike kicked off that grounded international and domestic flights and left thousands of passengers stranded.

During the protest, two employees were killed and several others wounded at Karachi’s international airport when clashes broke out between security forces and staff.

“We are calling off the strike today,” Sohail Baloch, the chairman of PIA’s joint action committee of employees, told a press conference in Karachi on Tuesday.

In December, the government announced it would complete the partial sale of the carrier by July, following years of crushing losses and mismanagement that have battered the airline’s reputation.

PIA, one of the world’s leading airlines until the 1970s, now suffers from frequent cancellations and delays and has been involved in numerous controversies over the years.