Overseas Pakistanis Submit Rs. 100 Billion Offer to Buy PIA

An overseas Pakistani conglomerate Al-Nihang’s has offered Rs. 100 billion to buy Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). In a letter addressed to the federal government, the group explained its plan to assume full ownership of the airline and take care of its financial burdens. It proposed to clear PIA’s existing debt of Rs. 250 billion and committed to retain the entire workforce with a 100 percent salary increment over the next 30 months. Al-Nihang’s further aims to upgrade PIA’s fleet with modern aircraft and establish it as an engineering and maintenance hub serving other airlines. Last week, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expressed interest in buying PIA. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently said that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had suggested buying the flag carrier and rebranding it as Air Punjab. The government has also received an offer to acquire a partial 60 percent stake in PIA by real estate developer Blue World City which offered Rs. 10 billion. The federal government has set a minimum price of Rs. 85 billion to offload the debt-ridden enterprise.