Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Wednesday ongoing efforts to relaunch International Airlines in Pakistan (PIA), notably in the restoration of his flight in New York, as part of wider plans to privatize the national carrier and rebuild his reputation.
He credited the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for what he called a “historic stage” and announced that the airline would soon be offered to private tenderers as a fully functional and precious asset.
Earlier in the day, the United Kingdom withdrew Pakistan from its air security list, paving the way for Pakistani airlines to request flight operations in the country.
“We first end all the essential processes to increase the market value of the airline,” he said, adding that the government had closely followed the directives of aviation regulators to facilitate future approvals.
Asif confirmed that once privatized, the PIA would be equipped with new planes and received new international routes.
“Pakistanis abroad will be able to go home more easily,” he said. “The time and the cost of travel will be reduced.”
He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had personally monitored the Renaissance process and had received regular updates.
“Many friends and colleagues have worked hard to make it possible,” said the Minister of Defense. “Today marks a historic and memorable day.”
Read: The United Kingdom deletes Pakistan from the air security list
The minister noted that PIA had once carried the bodies of the Pakistanis free of charge, a service now lost. “Now families have to spend thousands of dollars,” he said. “It was a shock for the Pakistani diaspora. Many have now bought funeral plots abroad. ”
The asif has blamed for the decline of the PIA on the former Pakistani government Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI). “A ban was imposed on us during their mandate,” he said. “Ghulam Sarwar criticized its own department and actually invited international organizations to impose a ban on the Pakistani airline.”
“To date, he has not explained his comments,” said Aif. “Imran Khan is also responsible for this result.”
He declared that the ban had caused financial losses of a billions of rupees, but more damaging was the national dignity. “Our qualified personnel had helped establish other airlines in the region,” he noted. “An individual has erased all this harshly won reputation. What was his reason? This remains a disturbing question. ”
Asif said the problem was now solved and confirmed that Airblue had also been authorized to operate internationally. He congratulated the civil aviation Authority (CAA), saying that the European Union had regained confidence in the body.
He also praised Khawaja Saad, a contribution to the aviation reform in the past two to three years. “Today we are justified,” he concluded.
