Karachi: Speaking to News Eyes, Privatization Commission spokesperson Imran Ghaznavi said that May 25 had been set as the target date for completing the privatization process of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). However, due to certain unavoidable reasons, the process has been delayed. He expressed hope that the management of PIA would be transferred to the buyer consortium in June.
Imran Ghaznavi stated that the buyer consortium, the Privatization Commission, and the government have completed all domestic requirements related to the transaction. As a state-owned airline, PIA operates under various bilateral and state-level agreements with different countries. Under these agreements, the government is required to inform the relevant countries about the change in ownership of the airline and obtain the necessary No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for continued operations.
He explained that the issuance of NOCs from several foreign authorities has taken longer than expected, which remains the main hurdle in completing the ownership transfer. The Privatization Commission and the government are actively pursuing the matter, and it is expected that the transfer of PIA’s ownership will be finalized in June.
