Government should discuss PIA privatisation issue in parliament: Pervaiz Ashraf
Government should resolve the issue through dialogue
Dunya News Report (Jibran Dost)
LAHORE: Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has asked the government to take the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatisation issue to parliament.
“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government should resolve the issue through dialogue with the protesting employees. It should avoid the use of force to suppress the employees’ voice,” the former prime minister said while talking to reporters in Lahore on Sunday.
He expressed that the killing of two PIA workers is an indication that the government had mishandled the protest. He further added that the government should think about the protesting employees and understand their concern regarding the privatisation of the national carrier, which might leave them jobless.
“The government should bring this matter to parliament and find an amicable solution,” he suggested.
At the same time, flight operations throughout the country partially resumed as two PIA flights carrying 725 Umrah pilgrims from Jeddah landed at Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad on Sunday.
The first flight PK-7330 carried 400 passengers while the second flight PK 760 carried 325 passengers. In addition, flights PK-4232 and PK-605 departed for Abu Dhabi and Gilgit from Islamabad airport on Sunday morning.
According to PIA spokesman, Daniyal Gilani, flight operations throughout the country are partially restored and it is hopeful that they will lift up in the coming week.
Furthermore, Pakistan International Airlines would want to present a sincere apology for the inconvenience caused to all PIA customers and passengers, he added.
On the other hand, Chairman of the Joint Action Committee Captain Sohail Baloch while speaking to media representatives in Karachi stated that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should not create the PIA a problem of his ego and called for an instant dialogue to settle the issue and the suffering being faced by the people due to closure of flights.
Workers of PIA have put everything at stake and now the privatisation will not be accepted at any cost, Cpt Balooch further added.
Earlier last week, the PIA management organized four Boeing 747 jumbo planes to return home Pakistani pilgrims abandoned in Jeddah because of the cancellation of PIA flights due to the on-going protest in the country against privatisation.
A PIA spokesman expressed that a concordance with the Saudi Airlines has been reached. The jumbos will fly on Friday and return 2,000 pilgrims from Jeddah. On the way back, the plane would take the same number of passengers to Jeddah for Umrah.
On the other hand, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also reached an understanding regarding the privatization of the national carrier.
According to the Ministry of Finance and Privatisation, the understanding to postpone the privatisation of the PIA by 6 months was reached during the last meeting that took place in Dubai.
Earlier this month, rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons were used as law enforcers engaged in an attempt to deter the protest of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees against the privatization of the national carrier.
