ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has shortened the deadline for the financial closure of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by four months, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
During a discussion on PIA’s privatisation roadmap on February 6, 2025, the Prime Minister instructed that the financial closure and transfer of PIA be completed by June 1, 2025, instead of the previously proposed timeline of October 2025.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed that if PIA is privatized, the 18 percent GST could be waived to encourage private sector investment in new aircraft.
Cash-strapped PIA approves salary increase for employees
According to sources, the Privatisation Division has been directed to revise and review the steps involved, along with their timelines, accordingly.
PIA’s liabilities amount to Rs 45 billion, including Rs 26 billion in taxes owed to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Rs 10 billion to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the remaining amount is made up of pension liabilities.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation has also been informed that non-core assets will not be part of PIA’s bidding process. The government is formulating a separate policy for these assets, and a consultant has already been hired to propose two to three options to the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP).
The PM further stated that the Ministries, including the Ministry of Aviation (now part of the Defence Ministry), Finance Division, Power Division, Industries and Production Division, and Commerce Division, which are overseeing the privatisation of State-Owned Entities (SOEs), should maintain a pool of expert lawyers to promptly address any litigation, to ensure smooth implementation of the privatization program as per the proposed timelines.
The Ministry of Industries and Production has been directed to conduct an audit of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) accounts for the past years to ensure that all conditions are met prior to its privatization, and to fast-track the process.
An Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), under Rule 17(3) of the Rules of Business 1973, has been constituted as the “Cabinet Committee on the Closure of Operations of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC)” pending its privatization.
The committee has been tasked to finalise its recommendations and includes: Minister of Industries & Production (Convener); (ii) Minister of State for Finance and Revenue (Member); (iii) Minister of State for Information Technology & Telecommunication (Member); (iv) Secretary, Finance Division; (v) Secretary, Industries & Production Division; (vi) Secretary, Privatization Division; and (vii) Secretary, BISP (Member).
The Committee had been assigned to determine the modalities for the immediate closure of the operations of the USC and work out arrangements for the placement of permanent human resources of the USC in the surplus pool or absorption against existing vacancies in other Federal Government Organisations.
The Committee has also been directed to prepare strategy for the provision of the Prime Minister’s Ramazan Package in coordination with BISP.
The Committee has also determined the arrangements for safekeeping and maintenance of the assets and property owned by the USC pending its privatisation; and any other matter related to the closure of the USC.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.