Azma refutes PIA acquisition claim

Punjab not considering purchase of entity, says provincial information minister

LAHORE:

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari has contradicted the claims made by her party president Nawaz Sharif, who indicated that Punjab was considering acquiring Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). 
The minister clarified that the Punjab government was not contemplating such a purchase, seemingly to prevent embarrassment for Nawaz Sharif.
During a press conference, Azma Bukhari asserted that Nawaz Sharif never stated that the Punjab government was planning to purchase PIA. 
She explained that during his meeting with the Pakistani diaspora, Nawaz had addressed complaints about the lack of direct PIA flights. In response, he mentioned that the purchase of PIA had been discussed in Punjab. 
However, he did not indicate that Punjab was considering acquiring the airline.
Azma’s claim seems to fly in the face of the facts, as social media clips shared by PML-N-leaning journalists show Nawaz stating the opposite. In one clip, he explicitly mentioned that Punjab was considering acquiring PIA to establish its own airline.
Azma contended that the Punjab government has no intention of purchasing PIA, adding that the government’s role is not to engage in business but to create a conducive environment for it. 
She acknowledged that while any provincial government could launch its airline, there was currently no proposal on the table in Punjab.
Bizarrely, the principle that applies to other provinces seems to be lost on K-P, as Azma mocked its government for expressing interest in purchasing PIA. She reminded them that these are the planes that fly, not the ones colloquially referred to as “jahaz” or associated with drug addicts.
She pointed out that the K-P government doesn’t even have the funds to cover employee salaries, yet they still dream of buying PIA. 
She said the Punjab government was poised to present a surplus budget of Rs630 billion in 2025, adding it was quite the joke that Maryam Nawaz was following Ali Amin Gandapur.
Moreover, Azma called attention to the urgent need for jail reforms in K-P, where prisoners have escaped, and highlighted that the K-P’s “so-called revolutionary fire brigade” did not even have funds to refuel vehicles during forest fires.