ISLAMABAD: The government plans to finalize the privatization process of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by the end of next month, according to a senior federal minister who shared the information while addressing the National Assembly on Monday.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar took up the issue of PIA flight restoration to the United Kingdom during his five-day visit to Britain, where he met top government officials and described the issue as a “major priority” for his government.
The suspension of PIA flights to the UK and Europe followed a 2020 plane crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. This was compounded by a controversial statement from Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the aviation minister in former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration, who asserted that a significant number of Pakistani pilots held fake licenses, leading to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ban on PIA.
The situation also impacted the privatization process of the airline, though Dar said the government would start receiving the first round of bids on October 1.
“Federal Minister for Defense Khawaja Asif informed the National Assembly on Monday that the privatization process of Pakistan International Airlines will be finalized by the end of October,” the APP reported.
He said PIA was facing a debt burden of Rs800 billion ($2.9 billion), adding its flights would not operate on routes that lack financial viability.
The government initially planned to finalize the airline’s privatization deal on the country’s Independence Day, August 14, but it was delayed following requests from bidders who were waiting for PIA’s latest audited accounts, aircraft lease agreements and clarity on flights to Europe.
There are 88 commercially operated state-owned enterprises in the country, and the government has approved the sale of 24 of them in its five-year privatization plan ending in 2029.
The privatization of loss-making state-owned entities is also important due to the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has given staff-level approval to a fresh $7 billion loan to Pakistan.
Pakistani minister says government to finalize PIA privatization by end of October
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Pakistani minister says government to finalize PIA privatization by end of October
- Pakistan planned to finalize the privatization deal on Independence Day, August 14, but it was delayed
- Khawaja Asif says PIA is facing a debt burden of $2.9 billion, can’t operate on routes lacking viability
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
