Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Monday asserted that his government will go to any extent to acquire the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Last week, an attempt to privatize PIA failed to proceed after receiving only one bid of Rs. 10 billion against a minimum price of Rs. 85 billion. Subsequently, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (BOIT) wrote to Privatization Minister Aleem Khan, expressing “earnest interest” in purchasing the national flag carrier for an amount greater than the minimum bid received.
A day later, a video of a meeting between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif and supporters in the United States emerged in which he shared a discussion with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz about acquiring the PIA and rebranding it as Air Punjab.
“Cat’s out of the bag,” claimed Gandapur while speaking to media in Peshawar, alleging the Sharif family wanted to purchase PIA, though the PMLN has clarified the discussion pertained to the Punjab government acquiring the airline. Maintaining the KP government would retain the name ‘PIA’ if it acquired the airline, Gandapur claimed the province had a surplus budget it could avail for this purpose.
Punjab denies interest
Separately, addressing a press conference in Lahore, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari categorically rejected the impression the province was considering buying the PIA. Maintaining Nawaz Sharif’s statement was taken out of context, she said the feasibility of acquiring the airline was discussed as a means of facilitating overseas Pakistanis facing difficulties due to a lack of direct flights to the U.S. and U.K.
However, she stressed, this was a mere discussion and did not reflect any concrete plans. She also slammed the KP government’s “interest,” saying a province struggling to pay salaries should not consider it. Nonetheless, she said, it was heartening to see the interest of provinces and the private sector in acquiring the national flag carrier.