Najm us Saqib<\/p>\n
A palpable, agitated energy filled the conference room. The hastily convened meeting in the downtown think tank\u2019s hall was a pressure cooker of opinions. Individuals around the heavy oak table\u2014each a stakeholder in the nation\u2019s psyche\u2014leaned in, their voices cutting through the hum of the struggling air conditioning. This was no dry policy review; it was the feverish autopsy of a national symbol. Every word laid bare the hopes, fears, and deep-seated cynicism of a country at a crossroads.
\nThe Outraged Patriot: Just thirty-five billion for seventy-five per cent? Peanuts! The government nets a pittance in immediate cash. I smell a rat. Why was the bidding threshold lowered? Where were the international players? And the clause to buy back shares if it profits? That\u2019s an admission of staggering incompetence. Why sell only to plan on repurchasing success?
\nThe Retired Diplomat: Let\u2019s not get ahead of ourselves. The deal needs a final set of approvals. If this buyer backs out, the next bidder gets a turn. The sole silver lining is that this passes a critical IMF test for reform credibility. It\u2019s a calculated compromise\u2014between the efficiency of full privatisation and the fiscal risk of total state control.
\nThe Serving Federal Secretary: Necessary surgery is always painful. For years, this institution was not an airline; it was a social welfare scheme with wings. Our choice was between perpetual, life-support transfusion or this difficult operation. This isn\u2019t about profit today; it\u2019s about preventing total collapse tomorrow. Judge us not by this single transaction, but by whether the patient walks again.
\nThe Concerned Citizen: My worry is twofold: accountability and human cost. Where will this money go? A televised bid isn\u2019t a transparency guarantee. And what happens to the employees after their one-year guarantee? This is a human crisis waiting to happen.
\nThe Angry Bidder: Transparency? A fiction. Our consortium offered not just in price, but in a clear, five-year modernisation plan. We were told that our financial structure was \u2018too complex.\u2019 It means we weren\u2019t the preferred horse. This wasn\u2019t a bid; it was an anointment. The real cost won\u2019t be the sale price, but the decades of lost potential.
\nThe Relieved Economist: Good riddance to a white elephant! It was consuming billions annually. If nothing else, we stop the bleeding. Hopefully, the Steel Mill is next. The best part is the decision\u2014however hybrid\u2014to finally do the right thing. Let\u2019s pull our socks up.
\nPolicy Analyst: Privatising flag carriers is a global norm. The twenty-five per cent model aims for commercial efficiency while retaining a legal lever for national interest. Its success depends entirely on a clear shareholder agreement where the government acts as a professional investor, not a meddling manager.
\nLegal Expert: It\u2019s about the \u2018Golden Share\u2019\u2014a strategic blocking minority. That stake allows vetoes over major decisions: mergers, asset sales, changes to the charter. They get a board seat for a voice in strategy, but not operational control. It\u2019s influence without interference. In theory, that is.
\nThe Cynic: Oh, brilliant! So, the private sector reaps profits in good times, and the State, as the minority owner, is expected to bail it out in bad times. We socialise the losses and privatise the gains. What an innovative model for Pakistan!
\nThe Conspiracist: Why is no one talking about deliberate sabotage? The airline was plagued by bad governance, yes\u2014but were they engineered? Was it run into the ground to justify a cheap sale to a chosen few? The entire timeline reeks of a planned demolition.
\nThe Professor: This is a classic case study in institutional decay and the privatisation paradox. We are treating the symptom\u2014the fiscal haemorrhage\u2014while institutionalising the disease: a lack of meritocracy, political capture, and regulatory failure. Selling a monopoly without first creating a competitive regulatory environment simply transfers power from one set of elites to another. We haven\u2019t embraced a market; we\u2019ve auctioned a feudal estate.
\nThe Industry Veteran: My fear is perpetual government interference. Every commercial decision requiring the twenty-five per cent shareholder\u2019s nod will be slow and politicised. This \u2018strategic influence\u2019 will strangle the very agility privatisation is supposed to bring. Old ghosts will haunt the new management.
\nThe Man in the Street: You talk of billions. I will talk about this: the free rides were for you, not for me. Will this sale put bread on my table? Probably not. But your white elephant never did either. My only hope is that maybe the new owner will need a baggage handler who is hired because he can lift a suitcase, not because he knows a minister\u2019s driver.
\nThe Moral Auditor: If we strip away nationalism and suspicion, we are left with a moral ledger. For decades, we enjoyed the romance of a flag carrier while silently consenting to its corruption. Our sin was that we were complacent. This sale isn\u2019t just a transaction; it\u2019s a settlement of a long-standing moral debt. Are we paying this debt, or just passing it on with our unlearned lessons?
\nThe International Strategist: They see a balance sheet. What I see is a geopolitical chessboard. In one move\u2014obedience to the IMF, yet protectionism for local capital\u2014they have privatised a piece of their sovereignty. The world isn\u2019t judging the price; it\u2019s assessing their desperation and future alignment. This isn\u2019t an end. It\u2019s the first move in a much longer game.
\nThe room fell silent, the weight of the diagnosis settling in. The autopsy was complete, but the prognosis remained agonisingly unclear.<\/p>\n
The writer is a former Ambassador of Pakistan and author of eight books in three languages. He can be reached at najmussaqib1960@msn.com<\/p>\n
Courtesy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Najm us Saqib A palpable, agitated energy filled the conference room. The hastily convened meeting in the downtown think tank\u2019s hall was a pressure cooker of opinions. Individuals around the heavy oak table\u2014each a stakeholder in the nation\u2019s psyche\u2014leaned in, their voices cutting through the hum of the struggling air conditioning. This was no dry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[12978],"class_list":{"0":"post-522476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-najm-us-saqib"},"yoast_head":"\n