In an effort to prevent Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from plunging further into financial turmoil, the Pakistani government has extended the due diligence period for the airline’s privatisation process by two months, now set to conclude by October 1, 2024. This extension, requested by several bidding parties, comes with a proposal from the Privatization Commission that the winning bidder should retain existing employees for up to three years—a gesture acknowledging the sensitivity of labor issues in the country’s public sector privatisations.
Since February 2015, PIA has accumulated colossal losses amounting to Rs599 billion (US$3.34 billion), with last year alone contributing Rs75-80 billion to the deficit, as revealed by Jawad Paul, Secretary of the Privatization Division. Addressing the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatization on Monday, Paul highlighted that four out of the six interested bidders had requested extensions ranging from 60 days to six months, leading the government to opt for a two-month extension.
