Ex-PM discusses plans for either reviving PIA or establishing \u2018Air Punjab\u2019
\n LAHORE
\nAfter the government\u2019s botched attempt to privatise one the highest lose-making entities \u2013 the Pakistan International Airlines\u2013PML-N President Nawaz Sharif has added a new twist to the story by revealing that his daughter, Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz, consulted him about acquiring the national flag carrier.
\nHe said they were considering this acquisition either to revive PIA or establish a new airline named \u2018Air Punjab\u2019.
\nOn Thursday last, the much-anticipated privatisation of PIA stalled as the sole bid was around Rs75 billion lower than the government\u2019s expectations. The Blue World City consortium submitted its bid of Rs10 billion against the minimum price of Rs85.03 billion, fixed by the Privatisation Commission.
\nThe government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only the real estate development company participated in the final bidding process. Due to the huge difference between the expected and actual bids, the commission gave the consortium more time to reconsider its bid.
\nAddressing an event held in his honour in the United States, Nawaz stated that Maryam had discussed the acquisition with him, outlining plans to add newer planes to the fleet and to position it as \u2018Air Punjab\u2019.
\nIt remained unclear whether he intended for the new airline to be a rebranding of PIA as \u2018Air Punjab\u2019 or a completely new venture.
\nHe mentioned advising Maryam that she could either acquire PIA or build a new airline from the ground up, potentially offering direct flights to London, Hong Kong, Turkiye, New York, and other international destinations.
\nHe indicated that this plan was under consideration, adding that either PIA would be fixed or a new airline would be established.
\nThere was no immediate clarification on whether the acquisition would be private or involve the provincial government. However, his comments suggested he was referring to a provincial government acquisition.
\nNonetheless, it remains bewildering that an entity the federal government failed to manage properly could be effectively run by a provincial government.
\nMoreover, a more pressing question arises: will the IMF permit a debt-laden institution to change hands between governments? It is pertinent to mention that the K-P government had announced its willingness to acquire PIA just a day earlier.
\nThe K-P government officially informed the federal government of its intention to submit a bid for the national flag carrier, proposing an offer that exceeds the highest bid of Rs10 billion from the Blue World Consortium.
\nIn a letter to Federal Minister for Privatisation Aleem Khan, Hassan Masood Kunwar, vice chairman of the K-P Board of Investment and Trade (KP-BOIT), expressed their desire to engage in the bidding process for the sale of PIA.
\nLater in the day, a party official clarified that Punjab was considering the acquisition of PIA, not the Sharif family.
\nNawaz Sharif was on the third leg of his tour of the USA, having left Pakistan on October 25 and spending a few days in the UAE before arriving at his secondary base in London. He is expected to return to London shortly before embarking on a trip to Europe.
\nAddressing the gathering, Nawaz Sharif criticised those responsible for PIA\u2019s decline, specifically blaming the airline\u2019s financial and managerial problems on PTI\u2019s former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan.
\nHe asserted that PIA was damaged by Sarwar\u2019s public accusation that pilots held a fake degree, which he claimed tarnished the airline\u2019s image and led to its ban from European airspace.
\nNawaz criticised Sarwar\u2019s assertion as a lie, adding that even if it had any basis in truth, it should not have been made public.
\nInterestingly, the PML-N, under Nawaz Sharif\u2019s leadership, has governed the country more frequently than any other party over the last four decades, coinciding with PIA\u2019s decline from a prosperous airline to one facing a crisis.
\nNawaz Sharif also referred to a doctored audio clip of former chief justice Saqib Nisar, stating that the clip remains accessible online and features Nisar asserting that Nawaz Sharif was to be imprisoned while Imran Khan was to be brought to power.
\nHe claimed that Nisar\u2019s son was later caught attempting to purchase a ticket from PTI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ex-PM discusses plans for either reviving PIA or establishing \u2018Air Punjab\u2019 LAHORE After the government\u2019s botched attempt to privatise one the highest lose-making entities \u2013 the Pakistan International Airlines\u2013PML-N President Nawaz Sharif has added a new twist to the story by revealing that his daughter, Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz, consulted him about acquiring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-441402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n