Adviser to Prime Minister on Aviation Air Marshal (Retd) Farhat Hussain Khan on Tuesday informed the Senate that the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was being carried out under the government’s policy to privatise loss-making entities.
Responding to a question during the Question Hour, he said the privatisation process of PIA is being completed transparently through open tender. The Adviser noted initially that PIA will be privatised as a flight entity, and the Privatization Commission will decide on its other properties later.
Regarding outsourcing airports in the country, the Advisor mentioned that a Transaction Advisory Services Agreement (TASA) had been signed between the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank Group. He said that this agreement, approved by the then Federal Cabinet in line with the Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A) Act and its relevant regulations, aims to outsource the operations of three international airports in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.
The Advisor highlighted that the IFC would act as a transactional advisor for outsourcing airports. Islamabad International Airport has been selected as the first airport to be outsourced. The outsourcing period for Islamabad International Airport is set at 15 years, while the time frames for the remaining two airports will be determined by the Federal Government based on a detailed study prepared by IFC, he added.
The Advisor said the successful bidder for Islamabad International Airport will be disclosed after the bidding process is completed, and the award of concession for outsourcing is expected to be completed before June 2024.
The Advisor clarified that only the operation and management of specific airport components would be outsourced. At the same time, critical services such as the Air Traffic Control Tower, Rescue and Fire Fighting Services and Air Navigation services would remain under the control of the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority.
He said the financial aspects of the outsourcing involve a fixed initial amount to be paid by the successful bidder and a percentage of revenue earned from the airport.
He said a one-time initial payment of US $100 million is required from the successful bidder. The financial details for airports in Karachi and Lahore will be finalised based on the analysis prepared by IFC.
In response to another question, the Advisor informed the Senate that PIA earned operational profit in January- June 2023. However, due to high financing costs and exchange losses, it incurred a net loss of Rs 61.6bn as of June 30, 2023. He said that PIA had accumulated liabilities of Rs 809bn as of the same date. The Senate session on Friday was adjourned due to a lack of quorum and ruckus that forced the chair to wind up the meeting of the House without taking any substantial agenda item.
After Senator Saadia Abbasi succeeded in presenting her motion to establish the first Parliamentary Caucus on Water Resources, the Senator requested the chair to talk about it, which the chair turned down.
Chairman Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, directed the Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Murtaza Solangi, to table his bill for amendment titled “The Motion Pictures Ordinance, 1979 [The Motion Pictures (Amendment) Bill, 2023].”
As the Minister for Information initiated to present his bill and started reading the text of the Bill, the Senators from different political parties created a commotion, hampering his speech. However, Minister Murtaza Solangi continued and noted that the amendment was about censorship and regulation of the exhibition of films using cinematographs.
Amid the rising unrest, the Minister responded to the dissenting Senators, saying, “The issuance of any ordinance is the prerogative of the government under Article 89 of the Constitution, and it is important for us to lay these ordinances in the form of bills and it’s the House’s job to make any decision on it.”
After an interjection from the members of the House, the Senate Chairman was directed to point out the quorum and start the headcount. However, after falling short of a quorum, the House was adjourned till December 29, 2023, to meet again at 1030 hours.
Speaking on occasion, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JIP) said as per Article 230 of the Election Act (Chapter XIV “Caretaker Government”), the caretaker government was only authorised for handling day to day matters, and by presenting ordinances, it was violating the Election Act.
He said that the interim government was intervening in strategic legislation, adding, “The tabling of the ordinance by the caretaker government at this moment is bypassing the constitution, parliament, law, masses and the demos.”
He added that the interim government was only allowed to make legislation under the pressure of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with the knowledge of the masses and the Parliament.
The Senate Chairman noted that it was a legislative document only and should be allowed to be sent to the Committee for further deliberations.
Leader of the Opposition, Senator Dr Shahzad Waseem (PTI), said the caretaker government could not enact legislation and termed the ordinance “unacceptable”.
Senator Humayun Mohmand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said, “If we give an inch to them, they will take the yard. These bills are not of crucial importance and can be lingered on for 40 days after the new regime comes to power; then, they can be presented before the House.”
On Tuesday, Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi assured the Senate that the government would follow House recommendations regarding the salaries and allowances of government employees, including Balochistan.
In response to questions during the question hour regarding the lower representation of officers from Balochistan at the federal level, the Minister asked the lawmakers to formulate a policy and make recommendations if there was any perceived injustice.
Responding to questions from Senators Fauzia Arshad, Mohsin Aziz, and Danesh Kumar, he welcomed the suggestions from Senate members regarding using zigzag technology in rural areas for making bricks.
He acknowledged that zigzag technology effectively reduced emissions of pollutants and increased efficiency, though it was still expensive.
Senator Irfan Siddiqui’s question about the non-allotment of plots to retired employees, the Minister assured that he would inform the House after obtaining information from the department.
He added that if the chair deemed it appropriate, the matter could be referred to the privilege committee.
In response to Senator Mushtaq Ahmed’s question, the caretaker federal minister said that the issue of F14, F15, and Bhara Kahu sectors should be sent to the relevant standing Committee. Chairman of the Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, referred the matter to the concerned Committee for further investigation.
