In phone call with British counterpart, Pakistan FM urges early resumption of PIA flights to UK

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday received a telephonic call from his British counterpart David Cameron, in which he urged early resumption of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to the United Kingdom (UK), the Pakistani foreign ministry said.

PIA flights to the UK were suspended after a fake pilot license scandal hit the South Asian nation in 2020, which led to the grounding of more than 250 Pakistani pilots, including 141 of the PIA.

In conversation with his British counterpart, Dar thanked him for his message of felicitations on his appointment as the foreign minister and said he looked forward to working closely with the UK to further strengthen bilateral relations.

“The Foreign Minister stressed on the need to enhance bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, people to people contacts and climate,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The Foreign Minister stressed on the need for early resumption of PIA flights between Pakistan and the UK which would further bolster linkages, particularly in view of the large Pakistani diaspora in the UK.”

Pakistan’s national airline has accumulated hundreds of billions of rupees in losses and arrears over the years, and is on the verge of default. In October last year, over a dozen domestic and international PIA flights were canceled due to fuel shortages after it emerged the PIA had not cleared dues of the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO).

In June 2023, Pakistan, which has been facing an economic meltdown, agreed to overhaul loss-making enterprises under a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for a $3 billion bailout program. The government decided to privatize PIA weeks after signing the IMF agreement.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instructed authorities to present final implementation schedule of the privatization of PIA.

“The prime minister issued strict instructions that laziness and carelessness will not be tolerated in this act,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a press release. “The prime minister directed that 100 percent transparency should be ensured at all stages.”

Courtesy: arabnews