Asif blames bureaucracy for public sector’s decline, seeks accountability

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who also heads the country’s aviation sector, has held bureaucracy responsible for the decline of the public sector while lamenting that politicians are often blamed for it.

“Those responsible for the ruin of [public sector] institutions will be held accountable,” Asif said while speaking to a private TV Channel on Wednesday. The minister’s remarks come in the wake of Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) successful privatisation bid held a day earlier where consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation emerged as the top bidder for 75% stake in the national carrier via offering Rs135 billion.

Asif blamed former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s statement claiming fake credentials of pilots which had resulted in wide-ranging restrictions and adverse repercussions for the national airline during the PTI-led government in 2020. Noting that the government retains 25% stake in the PIA, Asif said that the way airline was operating for the past four years, it would have been closed. “Privatisation will improve the services of the national airline. There is an intention to privatise other institutions as well, which are operating at a loss,” he added, while pointing out that various distribution companies (Discos) were in loss. Addressing the political situation, particularly, government’s potential talks with the PTI, Asif said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited the former ruling party multiple times, however, the other side sets conditions for dialogue. “If PTI puts its house in order, the talks can move forward,” he noted. Monitoring Desk