Pakistan International Airlines
Aleem Khan, the Federal Minister for Privatization, stated on Monday that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was to blame for the unsuccessful sale of Pakistan International Airlines(PIA).
He made this statement while sharing his opinions during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Privatization, chaired by Senator Talal Chaudhry in Islamabad.
The discussion at the meeting focused on the factors leading to the decreased bid for the sale of PIA. The privatization of PIA began on November 28, 2023, prior to Aleem Khan taking office as the privatization minister.
Read more: The Latest Updates on Pakistan International Airlines(PIA)
He said PIA’s losses were Rs830 billion at the time of privatization and the process cannot be halted once it begins. Aleem Khan stated that the Pakistan government has learned an expensive lesson from the unsuccessful privatization of PIA.
The minister mentioned that Air India’s privatization had failed five times before it was successfully completed on the sixth try. In October, only one bid of Rs10 billion ($36 million) was received during the final bidding process for the sale of a 60% stake in PIA, Pakistan’s national airline.
