On Monday, the Punjab government took a U-turn after provincial minister Azma Bukhari rescinded the claims to buy PIA, while the KPK government remained firm in purchasing the state airline.
“It’s a joke that Maryam Nawaz is following Gandapur. Nawaz Sharif never said that the Punjab government was planning to purchase PIA. All Pakistanis want the national airline to improve, and if investors from Karachi are interested in investing in PIA, it’s a positive development,” she said while addressing the press conference on Monday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur stated that his provincial government is ready to go to any lengths to buy the state airline and outbid the current offer of Rs.10 billion quoted by Blue World City.
The much-anticipated privatisation of PIA hit a standstill last week as the only bid fell Rs75bn short of the government’s expectations. The Blue World City consortium submitted a bid of Rs10bn, far below the minimum price of Rs85.03bn set by the Privatisation Commission.
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Taking a dig at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, Azma Bukhari said: “The KP government, which does not even have funds to pay salaries to its employees, is dreaming of buying PIA.” She is nothing less than a joke that CM Maryam Nawaz would follow CM KP Ali Amin Gandapur.
Earlier talking to the media, Nawaz Sharif said that Maryam Nawaz had sought his advice on whether the Punjab government should buy the airline or start a new airline.
“Maryam proposed that the Punjab government launch a new airline — Air Punjab — and I advised her to proceed with further consultations on the potential acquisition of PIA,” the elder Sharif had said.
“We could introduce a new airline that would offer direct flights from Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta to New York, along with services to London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and other international destinations,” said Nawaz Sharif while talking to media in New York.