PM Kakar orders expediting PIA’s privatisation process

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday directed the authorities concerned to expedite the process of privatisation of the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), ARY News reported.

The caretaker prime minister issued the directives while chairing a review meeting on financial crisis of national carrier as PIA and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) were at loggerheads over fuel supply.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Kakar stressed the finalisation of the privatisation process within stipulated time. He also sought regular compliance reports to be submitted to him in this regard.

PM Kakar said the government would continue extending support to PIA till completion of its privatisation. He said the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), which were facing financial loss, would be privatised to save the national exchequer.

The prime minister was given a briefing on the financial situation of PIA.

The meeting was attended by interim federal ministers including Shamshad Akhtar and Fawad Hussain Fawad, Adviser on Aviation Air Marshal (retd) Farhat Hussain, and officials concerned.

On Sunday, a tense situation arose over the fuel payments after the PIA consumed it daily limit. A PIA spokesperson confirmed to ARY News that flight operations were ‘completely suspended’ after PSO halted fuel supply to the airline.

Overall, 77 international and domestic flights of the PIA were affected due to this situation and as a result, around 10,000 passengers could not travel. The airline suffered a loss of Rs700 million in a single day because of the massive cancellation of its flights, sources claimed.

Due to cancellation and delay of PIA flights, hundreds of passengers have been facing inconvenience for past several days. They were not only the travelers, but flight crew was also facing inconvenience due to delay in flights departures.

The PIA administration had paid Rs220 million to the PSO on Friday for its operation over one and a half days. However, the credit limit available to the national flag carrier was too little, which led to a crisis-like situation.

Later, the PSO – in a statement said – the fuel supply to the PIA had not been stopped. The company noted that the fuel supply to the airline continued for the flights the airlines chose to operate.

“Under the current mechanism, the PIA sends a list of flights to the PSO on a daily basis along with the payment for the fuel. The PSO is fuelling the flights as per the list sent by the PIA,” the oil company added.

In a late-night development, the PAI spokesman said flight operation was partially restored, and flights to Jeddah departed from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Multan.