Daily Times

Reiterating Islamabad’s determined resolve to “divest” state-owned white elephants, Privatisation Minister Fawad Hassan Fawad recently met with a delegation from the World Bank to streamline the agenda to attract much-needed private investment.

There is nothing new in the argument to minimise losses as the tragic overturning of the national airline’s glory and revenues have repeatedly crept their way into debates in parliament. Just two months earlier, reports of PIA grounding a third of its fleet due to a crippling absence of funds required to keep the engines running had hit headlines.

It would only make sense for the government to continue throwing lifelines into the company if there appeared even a semblance of its upward trajectory. From being invited to lay the foundation of emerging players to losing considerable ground to airlines whose service, routes and appeal to the customer far surpassed its own potential, our star enterprise and its promising catchphrase, “Great People to Fly With,” has languished on a topsy-turvy ride.

Now that all restructuring plans have been debated to death and there appears no other solution than to put an end to the lethal haemorrhaging of public money, the privatisation ministry would have a hard time trying to offload the national carrier at a worthwhile price.

The right time to strike this deal was decades ago when the golden appeal still held true and people wanted to take a chance on an airline with striking routes all across the globe. Today, security concerns, thanks to foot-in-the-mouth moments of ministers in the past, have closed doors on many international flight operations. Even when talking closer to home, a barrage of private airlines wish to carve their own mark on the domestic market. It can only be hoped that Mr Fawad and his team would ensure transparent proceedings of the looming deal so that public trust can be regained in the government’s sincerity towards the dwindling finances. *