KARACHI: Pakistan will privatize 75 percent of its national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), while retaining its name and branding, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday, adding that bidding will begin soon among four shortlisted investor groups.
The decision marks Islamabad’s most aggressive push in decades to reform the debt-ridden airline, which has accumulated more than $2.5 billion in losses and become a major burden on the national budget. Once regarded as one of Asia’s premier carriers, PIA has struggled with chronic mismanagement, political interference, overstaffing, mounting debt and operational issues that led to a 2020 ban on flights to the European Union and United Kingdom after a pilot licensing scandal. Privatizing the airline is also a key requirement under Pakistan’s $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program agreed last year.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a meeting on the airline’s privatization where officials briefed him on the transaction structure and business plan. He directed authorities to “swiftly and transparently” complete the long-delayed process.
“The bidding process will begin soon and 75 percent of PIA’s shares will be privatized,” the PM Office said in a statement.
