ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government on Thursday approved $8 million to pay severance packages of the Pakistan International Airlines-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York, Pakistani state media reported, amid the South Asian country’s push for privatization of state entities.
The development came at an ECC meeting presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, during which the Ministry of Aviation presented a summary to allow the utilization of $8 million available with National Bank of Pakistan to pay severance packages of the establishment.
Roosevelt Hotel, a 19-story building located at a prime location in New York, was inaugurated in Manhattan on September 22, 1924. Named after the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, Pakistan’s national airline leased it in 1979 through the Pakistan International Airlines Investments Limited (PIA-IL).
Saudi Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud was also one of the investors in the 1979 investment deal, though the PIA decided to buy the hotel for $36.5 million in 1999 and later struck a deal with its Saudi partner in 2005 to buy his share in the property as well.
“The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Thursday approved $8 million to pay severance packages and operational expenses of the Roosevelt Hotel,” the state-run APP news agency reported.
In 2021, the government of then prime minister Imran Khan had allowed the release of $27.3 million for the payment of liabilities accumulated by the hotel, which permanently closed its door on October 31, 2020, after remaining operational since 1924.
A year earlier, it had also approved $142 million for the PIA-IL last year to meet the hotel’s financial challenges.
The $8 million severance grant comes amid Pakistan’s push for privatization and reforms in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as it negotiates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a fresh bailout program, for which Islamabad must implement an ambitious reforms agenda, including the privatization of debt-ridden SOEs.
Among the main entities Pakistan is pushing to privatize is its national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), while the government is putting on the block a stake ranging from 51 percent to 100 percent.
The South Asian country, which has been facing low foreign exchange reserves, currency devaluation and high inflation, last month completed a short-term $3 billion IMF program that helped stave off a sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program to keep the $350 billion economy afloat.
Pakistan approves $8 million to pay severance packages of PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York
https://arab.news/jrec6
Pakistan approves $8 million to pay severance packages of PIA-owned Roosevelt Hotel in New York
- Pakistan’s national airline bought the Roosevelt Hotel in 1999 for $36.5 million
- Islamabad is pushing for privatization of state entities for a fresh IMF bailout
Pakistan says 13 militants killed in counterterror operations in northwest
- Security forces kill 13 militants in northwestern Bannu and Mohmand districts, says military’s media wing
- Military vows to continue action against militants at “full pace” to eliminate “foreign-sponsored terrorism“
PESHAWAR: Security forces killed 13 militants affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Pakistani Taliban this week in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province during two counterterror operations, the military’s media wing said on Sunday.
The first of the two operations, which took place on Dec. 12-13, was carried out in KP’s Mohmand district. Seven militants belonging to the TTP were killed during the operation, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The second operation took place in Bannu district where six militants were killed. The ISPR said security forces were carrying out sanitization operations in the area to eliminate any more “Indian-sponsored kharji” in the area.
“Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the ISPR vowed.
Pakistan’s military frequently uses the term “khawarij” to describe the TTP. It accuses India of arming and funding militant groups in KP and Balochistan provinces, charges that New Delhi has denied.
Islamabad alleges that TTP militants and other outfits plan militant attacks on Pakistan from Afghanistan and enjoy sanctuary in the country.
Kabul rejects these allegations and says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security, which it says is Islamabad’s internal matter.
These allegations have triggered tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, resulting in deadly border clashes in October that killed dozens of soldiers.
