PPP moves parliament against privatisation of PIA, PSM

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Monday moved in Parliament to resist the government plan to privatise the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Steel Mills with submitting the calling attention notices in the Senate and the National Assembly.

Senator Farhatullah Babar submitted the calling attention notice to the Senate Secretariat against the privatisation of the PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills, while Syed Naveed Qamar, Shahzia Mari, Dr Nafeesa Shah, Mir Ijaz Jakhrani, Imran Zafar Leghari, Syed Ghulam Mustafa shah, Shugafta Jummani and Abdul Sattar Bachani submitted the calling attention notices in the National Assembly Secretariat on Monday.

Senator Farhatullah Babar, in his calling attention notice submitted to the Senate Secretariat, stated that during the past five years, both the PSM and PIA have accumulated losses to the tune of hundreds of billions. “The gross and almost criminal neglect in the running of these entities gave rise to speculations whether the losses were incurred by design to create justification for their sale at throw away prices,” he stated in the calling attention notice.

He said The PSM reached the brink of precipice after it was denied gas supply since 2015 and that too at a time the production was 65 percent. The calling attention notice stated that the PIA reached the brink by a combination of factors, including the absence of business plan, floating Premier Service at a loss of nearly Rs03 billion. “Highly expensive lease agreements, open skies policy without discussion, giving dozens of landing rights to one airline in one day and discontinuation of some important routes drastically reducing PIA’s market share,” the notice says

Farhatullah Babar said that two facts are most pertinent: One, The recommendations of the Senate Special Committee on PIA, including overhaul of the Board of Directors were not implemented even though under the Rules of Business it had become mandatory on the government to implement the same. Two, he stated in his calling attention notice stated the surprising timing and manner of privatisation without reference to Parliament, involving conflict of interest and just when the general elections are around the corner.

It is to be mentioned here that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and former President Asif Ali Zardari had already asked Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to shelve attempts to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Steel Mills or get ready to face stiff resistance from his Party both inside and outside Parliament.