The government plan to privatize the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines has been challenged in the Sindh High Court, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.
The court issued notices to the ministries of Law, Aviation and Finance for December 21 and made them parties in the case.
The petition was filed by Samira Muhammadi.
According to the petition, the caretaker government has no jurisdiction to take big and important decisions. The caretaker setup can’t initiate any project itself, it can only complete the projects launched by an elected government.
The caretaker government does not have authority to privatize the PIA, it is a public private company.
The act of privatization is a violation of Article 18-C of the Constitution.
As per the constitution, the private sector does not have the authority to create monopoly but this power has been given to the government.
The petition states that the privatization of the national flag carrier also contradicts the Privatization Company Ordinance of the PIA.
It says that they (rulers) also want to sell the Roosevelt Hotel in America.
The petitioner says that the PIA was made a public private entity in 2016, by virtue of that, the entity could not be privatized. But in 2023, the law was amended. However, the PIA privatization still is not possible without making amendments to the constitution.
The petition further points out that no elected government has entered into a privatization agreement with anyone, so the caretaker government has no authority to privatize it.
Sindh High Court Chief Justice Aqeel Abbasi remarked that they are happy to sell the assets and say that the capital is coming.
The chief justice further observed, “When companies go bankrupt and liquidation takes place, these people again become delighted that money is coming in. We don’t know where this thing will stop. But we want to know how to prevent the PIA from collapsing.”
Justice Aqeel Abbasi remarked if the privatization is being done through the commission, then it is a legal entity.
Reporter Mumtaz Jamali