Aviation Minister Asif rejects ‘baseless propaganda’ against PIA operations
- While safety remains non-negotiable, “unqualified individuals cannot dictate it," says Asif
Minister for Aviation Khawaja Asif on Monday dismissed what he called “baseless and malicious propaganda“ circulating about the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), its flight safety, and operations.
Asif’s statement against the “propaganda” targetting the national flag carrier comes while the government is in the process of selling the PIA, with a fresh Expression of Interest (EOI) call in April this year. The government’s reselling bid marks a revitalised effort to offload its stake in the national carrier. It first set June 3 as the deadline for EOI submission, but later extended it till June 19, with all terms and conditions remaining the same.
It has been seeking to sell a 51-100% stake in the debt-ridden carrier, to raise funds and reform cash-draining state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The government failed in the first attempt to privatise the PIA last year after receiving a single offer, well below the asking price of more than $300 million.
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In a post on his X handle, the aviation minister said that safety remained non-negotiable, adding that “unqualified individuals cannot dictate it in the presence of Pakistani and international regulators.”
He emphasised that PIA’s flight operations fully complied with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) and international safety standards.
Asif said the government “fully backs team PIA’s efforts to restore the national flag carrier’s profitability and expand its network.”
He noted that PIA’s average daily revenue over the past three days had reached Rs600 million, which was achieved through a regular domestic and international flight schedule without disruptions.
The federal minister accused certain quarters of “spreading malicious news to harm national interests and sabotage the airline’s revival efforts,” adding that the government had worked tirelessly over the past five years to bring PIA back on track.
Asif, who is also Defence Minister of Pakistan, said the PIA continued to operate scheduled domestic flights and international routes to Toronto, Manchester, Paris, Saudi Arabia, China, and the Far East, with plans to expand further into Europe and North America in the near future.
PIA posted a pre-tax profit in the first half of 2025, which a company source said is its first such for the period in about two decades, ahead of a planned sale of the national carrier later this year, Reuters reported on September 16.
PIA, part of PIA Holding Company, recorded a pre-tax profit of 11.5 billion Pakistani rupees ($40.64 million) in the six months to June, compared with the same period in 2024 when it remained in a loss before taxes and only managed a rare annual profit through deferred tax adjustments.
Net profit for the current half year stood at 6.8 billion rupees.