KP doubles down on PIA acquisition as Punjab rejects reports of buying national carrier

After Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Board of Investment and Trade (BOIT) expressed "earnest interest" in purchasing the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Monday that they would go to any extent to acquire the national carrier.

"Cat's out of the bag," alleged CM Gandapur in a statement, adding that the Sharif family wanted to purchase the PIA.

He was referring to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif's recent statement in which he confirmed the proposed by Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz to acquire the national carrier and rebrand it to "Air Punjab".

He announced that the KP government would not change the national airline’s name if it acquired the PIA.

Shedding light on the fiscal capacity of his province, the chief executive said that KP had a surplus budget and its "revenue stands at 100%".

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) firebrand politician reiterated that his party would unveil future strategy in its power show in Swabi on November 9.

Two days ago, Gandapur had claimed that the PTI's next public meeting would be held at Swabi Interchange in which the former ruling party will give a "final call" to get rid of the incumbent government.

Punjab govt not in PIA bidding race

Moreover, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari, addressing a press conference in Lahore today, categorically announced that the province was not considering buying the PIA.

She clarified that ex-PM Nawaz's statement in which he was addressing party workers and businesspersons in New York was taken out of context.

Bokhari confirmed that discussions were held of the feasibility of acquiring the national airline and a new airline to facilitate Pakistanis who have been facing troubles due to the non-availability of direct flights to the US and UK destinations.

However, neither the PML-N’s top leader had finalised to buy the PIA nor did the Punjab government have any such plans, she clarified.

She further clarified that Nawaz had just expressed his desire to see a new airline in Pakistan or restoration of the PIA's past glory which had helped establish globally famous airlines like Emirates and Qatar Airways.

The minister also welcomed the provinces and private sectors’ interests in acquiring the national flag carrier.

Bokhari launched a sharp criticism on KP BOIT's letter seeking its inclusion in the PIA's bidding process, saying that a province, which is under debt of more than Rs1,000 billion, is tabling such a proposal.

She was of the view that the provinces would have to thoroughly review its fiscal capacity before making such announcements, otherwise, it would be considered just a mere joke instead of mulling such proposals on a serious note by the authorities.

Under an ongoing privatisation process for state-owned entities, the PIA's final bidding process made headlines after the national airline attracted just one bid of Rs10 billion against the minimum expected price of Rs85 billion for a 60% stake.

The government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only one — real estate development company Blue World City — participated in the bidding process, placing a bid that is below the government-set minimum price of Rs85 billion Pakistani rupees.

Just a day after the development, the KP BOIT had expressed its "earnest interest" in participating in the bidding process for the sale of the national flag carrier.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's administration is looking to offload a 51-100% stake in a debt-ridden airline to raise funds and reform bleeding state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.