Daily Times

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday opposed the privatisation of loss-making national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), recommending the government to operate it under a public-private partnership.

The disposal of the flag carrier is a step past elected governments have steered away from as likely to be highly unpopular, but progress on the privatisation will help cash-strapped Pakistan pursue further funding talks with the IMF.

In a newspaper advertisement, a government privatisation panel set a deadline of May 3 to receive statements of interest in PIA, which has piled up arrears of hundreds of billions of rupees.

“Finance minister approves of public-private partnership; we urge him not to privatise PIA and revive it under public-private partnership,” Bilawal said while speaking at an event on the occasion of Labour Day in Karachi.

Asserting the ownership of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) land by the Sindh government, Bilawal stated, “If the government cannot revive the Steel Mill, it should hand it over to the Sindh government, and we will run it under a public-private partnership.”

He expressed optimism that both the Sindh and Balochistan governments would increase wages, while also expecting the federal government to raise wages.

“The philosophy of the PPP is simple; workers should be rewarded for their hard work. We hope that the federal, Sindh, and Balochistan governments will increase wages,” he said.

“I am celebrating Labour Day with my worker brothers and sisters. The world economy runs on the hard work of workers. While the elite earn money, it’s the workers’ sweat that makes it happen.”

Bilawal emphasised that former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had given a Constitution that mentions workers and acknowledges their hard work, granting them the right to unionise.

Highlighting the legislative efforts in Sindh for workers’ rights, Bilawal said, “The Sindh government has also passed laws in favour of workers’ rights; no province can compete with us in this matter.”