ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday gave a formal go-ahead for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). The approval was granted in a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) at the Prime Minister’s Office. The development takes place at a time when the government has expedited the process to privatise state-run enterprises including the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – a move that has raised eyebrows given that CAA is a regulator of commercial aviation service providers and it contributes up to Rs60 billion to the national exchequer annually. A press release issued on the occasion said, “After a detailed presentation on PIA and the discussion that followed, the CCoP gave go-head to the proposal for initiating the restructuring in PIA.” It said the meeting had decided to segregate core and non-core functions of the organisation. Quoting the PM, it said that mismanagement and neglect of the two important organisations in the past had not only resulted in the creation of huge financial liability, on annual basis, for the government but also caused great difficulties for employees of the two organisations. A proposal for PSM entering into a ‘concession’ agreement with investors, on revenue sharing basis, also came under discussion in the meeting. The prime minister directed officials concerned to explore all possible options and then devise a plan to address grievances of employees. Published in Daily Times, February 17th 2018.