Federal finance minister Ishaq Dar however made it clear that the government would not put on hold its privatisation plan as it was beneficial for the airline and the economy.
Flight operations of Pakistan's ailing flag carrier PIA remained suspended for the fourth day on Saturday due to a countrywide strike by its employees against the planned privatisation of the airline.
The protest was launched on January 26 but it turned violent on Tuesday when at least two PIA workers were shot dead in clashes with security forces outside the Jinnah International Airport. The crisis even compelled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan to visit Karachi on Friday and address the workers and employees of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) who have been on a complete strike since the two employees were killed.
Khan called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to immediately begin a dialogue with workers who are protesting against the government's decision to privatise the national airline which has been bleeding losses in billions in the last five years."The prime minister and his government should immediately start talks with these workers to end the problems being faced by thousands of people stranded at airport," he said.
A late night meeting between the joint action committee of the employees and government representatives failed to break the deadlock last night. Khan said the government needed to convince the protesting employees why privatisation of the airline is important. He also criticised the firing on protesters saying if people think their household and children are in danger of starvation, they have every right to stage a protest.
Federal finance minister Ishaq Dar however made it clear that the government would not put on hold its privatisation plan as it was beneficial for the airline and the economy. The government also got a boost when the Pakistan Air Lines Pilots Association (PALPA) announced its withdrawal from the strike today, with the organisation head directing pilots to resume their duties. "At least 410 out of 430 pilots in Palpa are in favour of resumption of flight operations," Palpa President Amir Hashmi told reporters.
He said PIA pilots are ready to provide their services but they should be provided adequate security as "we are receiving threats from the protesters". The main demand of the workers is to cancel a law passed last month to enable government to transform PIA into a public limited company and sell its shares with management rights.
PIA has incurred an estimated loss of over $17 million since last week due to the strike. Pakistan's four major airports in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar saw a huge rush of passengers due to flight cancellations.
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