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Friday March 29, 2024

PIA crisisIt is much ado about nothing: Dar

By Mian Saifur Rehman
February 07, 2016

Nawaz Sharif government, like any other welfare-oriented administration, has many options available to proceed and remedy difficult situations as in the case of PIA’s gratuitously created crisis, the government also pondered going for an alternate national airline nevertheless the government’s top priority is to wait for the prudence to prevail within the protesting ranks who have no justification to create fuss and uproar particularly when there is no overt or covert plan to deprive any PIA employee of his job now or in future.

These views were expressed by Federal Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, during an exclusive telephonic talk with The News late Friday night.

Answering a question about the term ‘gratuitously-created crisis’, the minister clarified that it is akin to ‘much ado about nothing’ situation that there is no issue still every effort is being made to make an issue out of it or to make a mountain out of a molehill. Going further, Dar said, “Right from day one, the government had no plan to remove any PIA employee from his or her job. Rather, the entire focus during the quest for partners to rescue PIA out of perennial deficit, was guaranteeing job security to the current PIA staff. The government had also plans to obtain guarantees despite politically-motivated over-staffing in the national airline.

Responding to another query, Ishaq Dar said, “There is lot of talk going on in different quarters that the government needs parliament’s nod for establishment of a new airline. The fact is that the government doesn’t need any such nod and it is very much within the government’s ambit and powers to go for the alternate option.

But we are exercising patience in announcing any final decision. It would rather be prudent that the protesters and their sponsors call off the strike after realising that they have been misled by vested interests”.

“I appeal to the misled protesters neither to go astray nor to continue with their strikes and protests since their rights of employment are fully protected”, concluded the FM.