On Thursday, the Supreme Court lifted its previous orders barring the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines. The constitutional bench has been constituted to hear the matter.
The additional attorney general of Pakistan has stated during the proceedings that the privatization exercise has put a stop to new appointments at PIA. He also informed that the government is planning to privatize PIA again after a lower bid of privatization, especially after European flying restrictions were retracted.
Justice Amin-ud-Din commented on the possibility of a better offer being ushered in today for the privatization process of the government. Another member of the bench, Justice Mandokhail, added that the SC had earlier ordered the privatization after consultation of all relevant stakeholders.
After all these discussions, the court lifted its standing order against the privatization of PIA.
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Privatisation of PIA had previously failed with only one bid of Rs 10 billion being received in the first round. The government then rejected the bid, sending the privatization issue back to the cabinet for consideration.
The Minister for Privatisation Aleem Khan, however, has related the initial failure of PIA’s sale to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). In the Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation, Khan explained that the privatization process began on November 28, 2023, before he was appointed as privatization minister.
The government now plans a second attempt to privatize PIA in hopes of getting better offers as well as success.