The Pakistani government has said that it will not ground the country's national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), even after it is privatized. The government also said that no employee of any entity would be sacked after privatization.
The statements from the caretaker government came after the PIA requested a moratorium on its domestic debt repayments to bridge an annual deficit of Rs153 billion between its sales and essential expenditures. The airline is also in talks with the Ministry of Finance for a Rs260 billion domestic debt restructuring.
The government said that it would give support to the PIA as needed, but that the final decision on debt restructuring would be taken by the privatization minister.
The privatization minister also said that the government would not lay off any employee even after the privatization of the entities where they work. The employees would be given various options, he said.
The government's announcement is likely to pacify lobbies working to save the airline despite a severe financial crisis. However, some experts have warned that the government's approach suggests that taxpayers' money would constantly be used to defend wrong decisions of the PIA management.
