Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar on Monday said the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has no legal authority to interfere in the affairs of the Pakistan International Airlines and impose penalty on allegedly occupying dominant market position. Responding to question on the jurisdiction of the CCP, he told media here that PIA is a state-run organisation where the CCP is only empowered to deal with the issue of cartelisation.
However, the CCP cannot interfere in other matters of the national flag carrier. Recently, a two-member bench of the CPP had imposed a token penalty of Rs 10 million on the airline for abusing its dominant market position by increasing Haj fares in 2008 at will.