Delhi moves against PIA office

Serves closure notice over ‘unauthorised’ property purchases; Islamabad asks PIA staff to pursue legal remedy

NEW DEHLI: Indian authorities have sent a closure notice to the New Delhi office of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in a move that could further strain the volatile relations between the two archrivals. The purchase of PIA’s properties in New Delhi was unauthorised, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in the notice and directed Pakistan’s national flag carrier to dispose of them.

PIA did not obtain permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before purchasing the properties in New Delhi’s upscale central Connaught Place, says the ED, which is run by India’s finance ministry. Under India’s foreign exchange laws, foreign entities must obtain clearance from the RBI before buying any property in the country.



The dispute over the legality of the PIA office has been ongoing for two months now.

PIA North India Manager Saeed Ahmad Khan, however, said the airline had been running its office out of the premises since 2005 when it was purchased. “We are at a loss to understand why they are acting now. How will we operate without our marketing and sales offices,” he was quoted by The Hindu as saying.

In what seemed to be a systematic plan, Saeed Khan’s visa has not been renewed by India’s home and external affairs ministries, and his cellphone service has also been disconnected. The external affairs ministry did not comment on the issue when contacted by The Hindu.

According to the paper, official Pakistani sources were worried that ED’s notice to PIA had political overtones and were aimed at “cutting off a vital link between the two countries”. It quoted one official as saying that the timing of the move – which came after foreign secretary-level talks between Pakistan and India were cancelled last July – indicated that other actions which create a further rift between the two nations could follow.



PIA is the only airline which runs direct flights between Pakistan and India – twice a week between Lahore and New Delhi, and once a week between Karachi and Mumbai. Without these flights, travellers from both countries will either have to cross the Wagah-Attari border by foot or rely on transit flights through a third country.

The Hindu, however, said the Indian establishment believed the closure of PIA’s operations in New Delhi would not be too damaging for travel between Pakistan and India since the Wagah-Attari route was more popular among travellers.

Pakistani officials said their government will take up the issue with India’s external affairs ministry soon. They added, however, that PIA will continue its India operations despite all difficulties.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office said PIA has been instructed to follow legal procedures and seek a legal remedy to the issue posed by the ED notice. In a statement carried by the BBC on Sunday, spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said Islamabad’s reaction to the notice has been conveyed to New Delhi.

She added that the Foreign Office has also raised the issue of the extension of visas of the PIA staff in New Delhi. “Hopefully, this issue will be resolved soon,” she said.

PIA spokesman Rana Hanif, meanwhile, said the airline’s staff will appear before Indian authorities on January 29 and present all records and documents pertaining to the purchase of the properties in question. He insisted that the properties were purchased in accordance with the law.

On the visa extension issue, Hanif said the PIA staff in New Delhi was often denied extension of visas given the nature of Pakistan-India ties. He added that the PIA staff has been instructed to remain in touch with Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2015.