PPP labour bureau leader opposes PIA privatisation, calls process illegal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Labour Bureau in-charge Chaudhary Manzoor Ahmed on Wednesday opposed the ongoing privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines, describing the process as unconstitutional and lacking transparency.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Ahmed said the government had moved ahead with the sale without obtaining approval from the Council of Common Interests or parliament. He said this amounted to a violation of legal requirements governing the national flag carrier’s privatisation.

“The PIA was established under the Acts of 1956, 2016, and 2023. Under the law, neither the CCI nor Parliament was taken into confidence before this privatisation,” he said. “This makes the entire process of the Pakistan International Airlines privatisation illegal,” he said.

Ahmed said the airline had been valued at Rs135 billion, but the government received only Rs10 billion from the sale. He further said that Rs6 billion had been paid separately to consultants.

The PPP leader criticised the terms and procedure of the transaction and said those responsible should be identified. He called for the immediate establishment of an independent judicial commission to examine the privatisation process.

Demand for judicial probe

Ahmed said an independent judicial commission should investigate the privatisation of the national carrier and determine responsibility for the decisions taken in the process. His remarks came as he rejected the sale outright and questioned its legal basis.

According to Ahmed, the absence of approval from the Council of Common Interests and parliament rendered the process unlawful. He maintained that the legal framework under which PIA was established required those institutions to be taken into confidence before any such move.

The PPP labour bureau leader made the remarks at a media briefing in the federal capital, where he set out his party position on the matter and urged immediate action to review the transaction.

He reiterated that the privatisation exercise was not transparent and said the government should be held accountable over the way the sale was conducted. He also repeated his objection to the financial terms cited at the press conference, saying the amount received did not match the airline’s stated valuation.

Ahmed’s statement focused on the legality of the process, the valuation of the airline, the payment made to consultants, and the need for a judicial inquiry into the privatisation of PIA.