SC constitutional bench greenlights PIA privatisation in 'fair manner'
Pakistan
The constitutional bench disposed of the case by withdrawing the earlier order
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench on Thursday disposed of the case by withdrawing the order halting privatisation of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
During the course of hearing, the additional attorney general (AAG) told the court that the apex court had granted permission to the PIA administration to hire new officials. The government, he said, initiated the PIA sell-off process but could not begin the recruitment due to privatisation mechanism.
The AAG said the commission was again going for the sell-off deal and a ban on PIA flight operations had also been lifted.
Justice Jamal Mandokhail inquired about violation of SC order by the government by restarting the privatisation process.
The SC order mandated that the process to dispose of PIA must be done by taking court into confidence.
Also Read: PIA sell-off halts as lone bidder offers paltry Rs10bn for stake
The law officer told the court that an application was filed to take the court into confidence on the PIA sell-off process.
Justice Mandokhail remarked that “the court grants its confidence and the privatisation process must be done in a fair manner.”
The constitutional bench disposed of the case by withdrawing the earlier order.
FINAL BIDDING
The final bidding process for the privatisation of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) took place on Oct 31 last, with just one participant for a stake in the national carrier.
Saad Nazir, chairman of real-estate development company Blue World City, confirmed to Reuters that his group placed a bid at a ceremony at a hotel in Islamabad.
The real estate group had placed a bid of Rs10 billion, way below the Privatisation Commission’s expectation of Rs85.03bn. The bid apparently put the privatisation of the national carrier in jeopardy.
Read More: PIA won't be sold cheaply, says Abdul Aleem Khan
The lone bidder refused to increase the bid, stating that the government may continue to run the entity on its own if it did not want to sell it.
The cash-strapped PIA is looking to offload a 51-100pc stake. The government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only Blue World City met the deadline to submit final documents to participate in the process.
