PIA plans fleet expansion as work continues to restore grounded aircraft

KARACHI: Arif Habib, chairman of the Arif Habib Consortium that owns Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), said on Thursday that the national carrier currently has 30 aircraft, of which 18 are operational, while five to six need repair and maintenance.

Addressing industrialists at the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), he said efforts were under way to bring those aircraft back into service, which would raise the number of operational planes to 26. He added that the longer-term objective was to expand the airline’s fleet to 60 aircraft.

Mr Habib also said Pakistan had become more economically stable, adding that figures for the current fiscal year showed the government had increased revenue, met all expenditure and paid interest on debt. At the same time, he stressed that lowering production costs was necessary to support economic growth.

He said electricity prices remained elevated because of capacity charges and weak consumption. According to him, if the existing transmission system, which has a capacity of more than 22,000 megawatts, were fully utilised, the cost per unit could fall by Rs10 to Rs12. He said that would only be possible if electricity consumption increased.

Mr Habib said that if the business community remained united, the government would pay attention to its demands. He also identified information technology, agriculture and mining as sectors that could help Pakistan address its challenges quickly and move towards growth.

Business leaders raise concerns over institutions and investment climate

Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) Chairman Hasan Bakhshi called on the business community to unite and create a consortium to acquire and run loss-making public institutions, including the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the Sindh Building Control Authority.

He said the business community could operate these institutions more efficiently and profitably.

KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput said that in the past decisions were made in Washington, but now they were being made in Islamabad, adding that Pakistan had emerged as an important stakeholder in global politics, which, he said, was difficult for its adversaries to accept.

KATI Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya expressed concern over the economy and the investment environment, saying both foreign and domestic investment were almost negligible because of bureaucratic obstacles and inconsistency in policy. He said that whenever a sound policy was introduced, it did not remain in place for long, which undermined investor confidence.

Korangi Industrial Trading Estate Ltd Chairman Zahid Saeed said that despite official claims of industrial development, practical measures were almost absent and Karachi’s industrial problems remained unresolved. He added that although the Sindh chief minister had announced in December 2025 that industrial infrastructure would be developed, no formal budget had yet been released for that purpose.

United Business Group (UBG) Chairman Khalid Tawab said Pakistan’s standing internationally had improved after the war with India. He added that Pakistan’s role in securing a ceasefire during the recent US-Iran tension had further enhanced the country’s reputation.