PIA suffered major losses during PTI regime, NA told

Ministry of Aviation says total PIA loss increased to Rs1,667m

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly meeting revealed record increase in the losses of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regime.

Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique told the meeting, chaired by Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, “Ghulam Sarwar Khan is not present … I don’t want to talk, but the PIA suffered a lot due to his ‘stupid statements’.”

Rafique said, “The former federal minister exaggerated the issue of fake degrees and licences of pilots, due to which the flights of Pakistan were banned in the whole of Europe.”

He said, “Big ministries were given to those who don't work. Ghulam Sarwar Khan's ignorant statements caused serious damage to the country.”

In the meeting, the Ministry of Aviation presented details of PIA's losses.

According to the officials, from August to December 2018, the PIA suffered a loss of Rs295 million while in 2019, it witnessed a loss of Rs526 million.

According to the documents, in 2020, Rs346 million while in 2021, PIA suffered a loss of Rs501 million.

The total loss of PIA increased to Rs1,667 million.

Speaking on the point of order, MNA Mohsin Dawar appealed to the speaker to send his case to the Privilege Committee as his basic right was violated.

He apprised the house that his name was removed from the 'no-fly list' by the federal government on October 17, but despite the fact he was not permitted to go to Tajikistan to attend the Heart Security Dialogue without any logical reason.

He said that his party supported the 'no-trust motion' because the PTI chief Imran Khan's government was paying no heed towards civilian supremacy.

He expressed the hope that the incumbent government would uphold the civilian supremacy in the country as political parties had rendered precious sacrifices for the restoration and establishment of democracy in the country.

Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri also expressed great concerns on the issue of her respective colleague Dawar.

Speaker Ashraf forwarded the matter of National Democratic Movement's Dawar of being stopped at the Islamabad International Airport to the Privilege Committee.

Marri thanked the NA speaker for sending Dawar's issue to the Privilege Committee.

Grand Democratic Alliance’s Saira Bano said that she could only condemn the language used by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as “this kind of language is not appropriate”.

MNA Sheikh Rohail Asghar replied, "I don't think Maulana has said anything wrong. When the former federal minister talked about women, where were the women?

“Maulana repeated what was discussed in the meetings. Is it our culture that our daughters talk like this in the meetings?”

Minister of Religious Affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor replied that what Saira Bano said, “we certainly respect women”.

“The PTI workers misrepresented Maulana Sahib's words. We also respect PTI women. But I condemn the behavior of the PTI workers in the meetings.

Saira pointed out the quorum and after counting, the quorum was found to be incomplete, after which the meeting was adjourned till 11am today (Friday).