By Admin 
Pakistan’s economic condition has now deteriorated so much that it has to sell its government airline Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that the auction of this airline will be shown live on 23 December 2025. This decision has been taken in view of the strong pressure from the IMF and the tough conditions of the bailout package.
Four big names are involved in the race to buy PIA. Among these four, the most talked about is Fauji Fertilizer Company, which is directly linked to the Fauji Foundation, which is under the influence of the Pakistani Army. Considering the deep hold of the army in Pakistan’s politics and economy, it is believed that ultimately this airline may fall into the hands of the same group. The remaining contenders also include Lucky Cement Group, Arif Habib Corp and Air Blue Limited. This is the first time that Pakistan will show the bid of a government airline live publicly.
Economy survived only on IMF’s terms
Pakistan has been running on debt after debt for the last several years. In 2023, the country was almost on the verge of bankruptcy. Defense expenditure continued to increase and revenue continued to decline. The number of loans taken from IMF has exceeded 20, while the country’s own economic capacity is very low. IMF approved a bailout package of $7 billion, but kept the condition that Pakistan should reform government companies, reduce losses and privatize sinking companies like PIA.
How did PIA collapse?
PIA, which was once respected internationally, went into the depths of ruin due to its own mistakes. In 2020, it was revealed that the licenses of almost one-third of Pakistani pilots were fake or doubtful. After this revelation, Europe, Britain and America banned PIA flights. Along with this, corruption, political interference, kinship-based recruitment and crowding of non-essential employees completely ruined the airline. This company, which incurs losses of billions every year, became the biggest economic disease of Pakistan.
countries in debt
Pakistan has now reached a point where it has to take new loans even to repay the old loans. In such a situation, privatization of PIA has become a compulsion for it. Apart from fulfilling the conditions of IMF, Pakistan does not see any other option. In the coming years, it will be seen whether the country is able to stop its economic decline after selling PIA or not.
Also read: Bangladesh Earthquake: Earthquake occurred early in the morning, the earth shook with a magnitude of 4.1, people ran away from their homes.