Post PIA’s successful sell-off: Privatisation Commission seeks annual budget hike

Following the successful sell-off of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the Privatisation Commission (PC) has sought an increase in its annual budget, citing the need for market-based experts to expand the privatisation process, it was learnt on Friday.

The PC apprised the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation of a proposal to enhance its annual budget to facilitate the hiring of market-based experts on competitive salaries, aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and expediting the privatisation process in the coming year, the Senate Secretariat said.

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The Senate panel met under the Chairmanship of Senator Dr Afnan Ullah Khan on Friday to review the budget allocation and utilisation for the last six months.

“The committee reviewed the current budget utilisation of the Ministry of Privatisation and was informed that both the Privatisation Division and the Privatisation Commission operate with a limited budget, largely comprising employee-related expenditures.

The Privatisation Commission apprised the committee of a proposal to enhance its annual budget to facilitate the hiring of market-based experts on competitive salaries, aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and expediting the privatization process in the coming year,” the secretariat said.

For the financial year 2024-25, Rs8.17 billion was reportedly approved for the commission.

In December 2025, Pakistan government concluded the sale of a 75% stake in its national carrier for Rs135 billion, giving an end to years of stalled efforts to privatise the loss-making airline.

Arif Habib consortium bought the managing stake in the national carrier.

The consortium is comprised of Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited, City Schools (Private) Limited, and Lake City Holdings (Private) Limited.

As per the details, the committee on Friday raised questions regarding the need for new hiring, particularly in light of the successful privatisation of the PIA with the existing workforce.

“In response, the commission clarified that specialised market experts are essential, as a single expert can manage only up to two privatisation projects at a time.”

It was further emphasised that sector-specific expertise, particularly for the privatisation of power distribution companies (DISCOs), was crucial.

“The [Senate panel] chairman appreciated the efforts of the commission and agreed in principle with the proposal to hire experts to enhance its operational capacity.

“The committee was also informed that the Ministry of Privatisation has no ongoing Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) projects and, therefore, does not require PSDP allocations.”

Meanwhile, the committee held a detailed discussion on the privatisation process of the PIA and examined various aspects of the transaction.

The PC secretary informed the committee that the entire privatisation process was expected to be completed within a period of 90 to 120 days.

During the meeting, Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan requested detailed information regarding the properties of PIA Holding Company Limited (HoldCo), including the total number of hangars, spare parts, and other technical assets.

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The secretary assured that the requisite data would be provided in the next meeting.

The panel was further briefed on the outsourcing of landside services at the Islamabad International Airport.

The members highlighted “deteriorating condition of passenger facilities, including food services and restrooms, and observed that service delivery can be improved through outsourcing, as governments are not ideally positioned to manage commercial operations”.

The commission informed the committee that outsourcing airport services was a priority area.

The Senate panel recommended that outsourcing at major airports be clubbed with smaller airports such as Quetta and Sukkur to ensure uniform service improvements, rather than reallocating resources at a later stage.