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Friday March 29, 2024

PPP to oppose PIA, PSM privatisation

By Our Correspondent
February 19, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Sunday announced to launch a strong protest both inside and outside Parliament against the proposed privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Steel Mills.

"We believe there is an ulterior motive behind this arbitrary and hurriedly done action.

We consider it a mala fide, ill-advised and ill-intentioned move at a time when 2018 general elections are just four months away," said PPP Secretary General Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari while addressing a press conference here.

PPP Secretary Information Dr. Nafisa Shah also accompanied him.

Bokhari said in the past five years, both the organisations had been made to suffer deliberate and criminal neglect, misgovernance and corruption so as to destroy them.

"We believe both the present prime minister and the previous one have ulterior motives in privatising the two entities. There’s a conflict of interest, as one is a steel tycoon and the other is an airline tycoon,” he said.

He said Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had been the PIA chairman and he used that office to make his own airline. "Why is it that the New York service has been discontinued by the PIA and initiated by the Air Blue," he questioned.

Similarly, he said Nawaz Sharif led the cartel of private steel industry which led to the downfall of Pakistan’s largest steel industry.

“With two capitalists earning billions of rupees at the cost of state industry, can one expect any better?”

Bokhari said it seemed both Abbasi and Nawaz wanted to dispose of state assets to benefit their own cronies, partners, allies, friends and family as had been done in the past.

"They want to turn Pakistan into a retail economy with no production and basic industry to show.

This is the reason why exports are at the historic low and debt and borrowing high," he said.

He said the Pakistan Steel Mills had been deprived of gas since 2015 and employees’ salaries were paid after months.

"Gas was discontinued when production was 65 per cent," he said, adding that this was clearly a slow kill.

“Make the mills dysfunctional, starve the employees so that there is no option in sight,” he said.

Bukhari said the CPEC projects required much steel and iron, but instead of supporting our own industry, the PML-N government imported billets from other countries.

He said former president Asif Ali Zardari had signed an MoU with Russia to run the steel mills but the present government put that agreement in the dustbin.

"We have reasons to believe that the rate at which its land is being sold is far lower than its book value," he said.

He said the PIA suffered losses during the PPP time largely on account of high fuel price.

PPP Information Secretary Dr Nafisa Shah said the narrative of PPP hiring employees was a fake one.

"Even today, every flight is running with short crew," he said.

She said it was estimated that more than 600 flights a week were being given free access to Pakistan, and these have reduced the PIA’s market share from 45 per cent to 25 per percent in the last four years and 120,000 seats and loss of market share worth 3bn dollars annually.

"Open skies policy was launched in Pakistan with no discussion, business plan, or clear targets and this is the main reason for downfall of the PIA," she said.

The PPP Secretary General said 27 landing rights were given to one airline in one day and all ground services were given to the company owned by the aviation adviser who became a billionaire overnight.

“Very expensive lease agreements were made when cheaper options were available,” she said. She said the premier service caused losses of Rs2.8 billion to the national airline.

She said it was on record that Mian Nawaz Sharif wanted to sell Roosevelt Hotel.

"Hildenbrand is alleged to have made a deal wherein an airworthy A-310 plane was sold to a German company for Euro 45,000, although the same aircraft was hired by a film making company in Malta for 10 days at a cost of USD 210,000 and its book value was estimated to be $3.1 million," she said.