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Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul haq Kakar has asked his Minister Fawad Hasan Fawad to fast-track the privatization process of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), ARY News reported on Thursday.
Chairing a meeting to review the process of PIA privatization in Islamabad on Thursday, he urged the stakeholders concerned to expedite the process keeping in view raising standards of the national flag carrier as per International standards. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar directed all relevant stakeholders to find an immediate solution to the matters related to this privatization. During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed on the progress of the privatization process of PIA. He also welcomed the new caretaker privatization minister Fawad Hasan Fawad to his team. Earlier today, amid a major financial crisis, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) cancelled several domestic and international flights, ARY News reported on Thursday. The flights scheduled to take off from/to the Karachi airport were cancelled after the national airline failed to pay Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for fuel supply. The Pakistan-based media outlet reported that the cancelled flights include Karachi-Turbat, Karachi-Gwadar, Karachi-Quetta, Karachi-Sukkur and Karachi-Multan. Earlier, the PIA grounded five out of its 13 leased aircraft with further prospect of grounding four additional planes due to the pending dues. However, the PIA asked for an emergency bailout of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 22.9 billion which was then rejected by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). Moreover, the ECC also rejected the request made by PIA for deferment of the payments of Rs 1.3 billion per month, which the national carrier pays to FBR against FED and Rs 0.7 billion per month which PIA pays against the rising charges, Geo News reported. Furthermore, the PIA also warned that Boeing and Airbus might suspend the supply of spare parts by mid-September. In July the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) froze the national carrier's account on the basis of non-payment of more than Rs 2 billion in taxes, according to ARY News. In January last year, the FBR froze 53 bank accounts of the PIA after it was found to be a tax defaulter of Rs 26 billion. However, those bank accounts were restored after PIA assured them of early clearance of the taxes. (ANI)
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