Stay extended in airport outsourcing case

LAHORE

The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Thursday extended stay till July 5 against outsourcing of Allama Iqbal International Airport of Lahore.

The chief justice also sought detailed replies from Privatisation Commission of Pakistan and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) till next date of hearing on petitions moved on behalf of the CAA employees and founder secretary of Pakistan People’s Party and ex-federal minister Dr Mubashar Hassan. Petitioner counsel Aamir Saeed argued that the CAA had given the management control of country's three big airports, including Lahore airport to a foreign company. He said it was breach of the national security. He said that according to CAA act, the air transport and civil aviation services could not be given to any foreign company. He said Pakistan Air Force also uses the runway and radar system of these airports and by giving management control of these airports would amount to risk the national security. He said these airports were used for emergency landing of passenger and air force planes during war situation. He said outsourcing the airports would amount to risk national security and requested to declare this action illegal and order to give, if desired, airports management control of these airports to some local company.

In reply, the counsel for federal government and CAA claimed that the project for outsourcing the management control of these airports had shelved. Petitioner's counsel alleged that the respondents were misleading the court. He alleged that the government was secretly completing the process, so it could claim that the privatisation had been finished and now nothing could be done.