Lifting of ban on PIA flights by EU lauded

KARACHI: The Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman of the FPCCI Advisory Board, Mian Zahid Hussain, said that the lifting of the four-year ban on the flights of PIA in European countries is an excellent achievement.

He said the move would reduce the PIA losses, increasing its market value, which is encouraging.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that efforts should also be made to lift the ban imposed by the UK and the US, and action should be taken against the political swindlers who tried to destroy PIA for personal interests. Otherwise, he warned that damaging national assets and interests for political benefit would continue.

He said that the ban on PIA in several countries, including Europe and America, was imposed to benefit a foreign airline whose head was a friend of the leader of a fanatic group in Pakistan.

For this purpose, the then Minister of Aviation made a statement in the National Assembly that the licences of many pilots in PIA were fake, leading to a ban on the carrier.

Later, the Islamabad High Court clarified that the Minister of Aviation's statement was wrong, but no action was taken against him for harming the national interests.

During the PDM’s coalition and caretaker government, efforts were made to dilute the effects of this baseless allegation. However, it took four years to lift the ban, which caused severe damage to PIA.

The damage prompted severe efforts to sell PIA, which were stopped only when a controversial bid of only ten billion rupees was received.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the restoration of PIA’s flights in Europe will reduce this organization’s losses and open the way for improvement in other related matters.

It should be noted that flights to Britain and other European countries were the most profitable for PIA, which was sacrificed for political interests.

He further said that the restoration of PIA in Europe will positively impact the overall economic situation and create great convenience for Pakistanis living abroad, which is welcome. Still, strict measures are necessary to prevent future conspiracies that harm the country’s interests.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024