‘Privatisation of PIA by end of Oct’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif said the privatisation process of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would be completed at the end of October 2024.

Responding to a calling attention notice regarding closure of Hyderabad Airport in the National Assembly on Monday, the minister who has additional portfolio of Defence Production and Aviation said the total loan obtained by the PIA was Rs800 billion. He said that flights were not viable commercially for PIA from Hyderabad to Karachi.

Responding a question of Khawaja Izharul Hasan, he said the government would give permission if any private airline wanted to start flights.

PIA sell-off likely by next month

Earlier, in a written reply to a question, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema told the House that the foreign loans, excluding IMF loans, received by the government for the last five years; i.e.; 01-July-2018 to 30-June-2023 were $ 57.272 billion.

He said “out of this, $9.819 billion have been received against project financing.”

He said the total amount of interest/mark-up paid against foreign loans(excluding IMF loans), acquired during the said period was $3.904 billion, out of which, $889 million were paid as mark-up against project loans.

He said domestic loans were primarily obtained either through auctions of government of Pakistan Securities or Debt raised through Central Directorate of National Savings. “The primary purpose of the domestic financing is deficit financing and maintaining reasonable cash buffer for the government. No project financing is carried out through domestic debt operations,” he said.

Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui says 20 Pink Buses have been allocated to provide free-of-cost pick-and-drop facilities to female students, working women, and female teachers in Islamabad.

Responding to a question during question hour in the National Assembly, he said the initiative of Pink Buses had been taken to avoid drop-outs of girl students. He said that at present, there were 311 operational buses to provide fetch and drop facility to the students of the federal capital.

Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan said the total exports of fruits increased from $280 million in FY 20222023 to $333 million in FY 2023-2024, registering an increase of 18.9 per cent. He said that regular mango promotion campaigns were carried out at various destinations.

About mango export, he said that furthermore, trade missions arrange mango testing events/festivals where importers, diplomats and prominent political figures are in attendance. He said that furthermore, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) organised business-to-business (B2B) sessions for promotion of mango exports between foreign buyers and local producers.

He said TDAP periodically hosts local exhibitions for enhancing exports of fruits. He said that a number of fruit companies participated in second International Food and Agriculture Exhibition at Karachi held from 9-11th August 2024, wherein, around 120 international delegates related to fruit and vegetable sector visited the stalls leading to fruitful interactions, he said.

Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said that Rs172 billion amount of advance tax was collected from mobile phones in the last two years.

In a written reply, the minister said that Rs92 billion were collected in 2024 and Rs80 billion were collected in 2023.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024