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The government said on Tuesday that the new buyer of the Pakistan International Airlines would require investing up to Rs70 billion in the loss-making airline over a period of five years but final investment needs would be assessed only after the audited accounts are available next month.

Privatisation Commission secretary Usman Bajwa said that the new investors would require to invest Rs60 billion to Rs70 billion over the five years. He made the statement during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Privatization, which was chaired by Senator Dr Afnan Ullah Khan of the PML-N.

Usman Bajwa said that new investment will be aimed at financial recovery, operational improvements, and increasing the fleet size.

During the last failed attempt to privatise PIA, the government set the investment limit at $300 million and the new limit appeared on the lower side compared to the last time. One of the possible reasons can be the assumption of improved profitability due to opening of international routes to Europe and the United Kingdom and tax exemptions on lease of aircraft.

Usman Bajwa said that PIA has decided to start flights to Manchester from August 14 after the United Kingdom lifted a ban on PIA flights. The ban had been imposed after the last PTI government claimed that the PIA pilots had bogus degrees.

The advisor to Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali said after the meeting that the airlines total investment requirements would be assessed once the audited financial accounts for end June period are available by mid of next month.

The Secretary Privatisation said that there were security concerns regarding PIA’s North America routes but efforts were underway to address and clear these concerns.

The investor will retain 85% of the bid amount to invest the money in the airline. The government will get only 15% of the bid money.

The PIA fleet age has also risen to 18 and a half years and the new investor would have to double the fleet within five years, said the secretary. The CEO of PIA said early this month that the airline was currently flying 19 aircraft.

The government had earlier claimed that the PIA showed Rs26 billion profit last year but a report by the Ministry of Finance busted the claim and stated that the airline in fact incurred a net loss of Rs4.6 billion and one-off “accounting profit” of Rs26 billion due to treating past losses as future assets “should not be misinterpreted as a sign of operational profitability”.

The government wants to sell 51% to 100% stakes along with the management control. It had also made an attempt to privatize PIA last year but ended up receiving Rs10 billion bid against Rs85.03 billion minimum price.

The standing committee also reviewed a report highlighting complaints of the pensioners of PIACL. It was also revealed that currently pension liabilities for 6,625 employees of PIA amounted to Rs14. 9 billion. Expressing concern, Chairman Committee Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan remarked that the pension amount was extremely low, asking how people are expected to survive.

In response, the Ministry of Privatization stated that pension policies are regularly revised and updated annually in line with allowances. The Chairman directed that grade and scale wise pension details, including the amount received and the distribution process, be presented in the next meeting of the committee

The secretary said that the due diligence process for pre-qualified companies has begun and the field visits would start soon. He said that starting next week; pre-qualified companies will conduct site visits and participate in expert sessions. These sessions will include briefings on aircraft conditions and routes, as stated by Usman Bajwa.

The Privatisation Commission officials said that the current business model of PIA was not sustainable. They said that the privatisation prospects have increased after Rs45 billion worth more liabilities were taken off the balance sheet of PIA and parked in the new holding company.

They said that the last failed attempt will not affect the new bidding process. The Secretary Privatisation said that the government was earlier providing Rs100 billion annually to keep PIA operational.

The Committee was informed that the Pakistan Minerals Development Corporation (PMDC) is not yet included in the Privatization list. Senator Zeeshan Khanzada questioned why this institution was being privatized.

Senators further queried the basis of the privatization decision, noting that the Petroleum Ministry lacks the mandate to privatize the PMDC.

Regarding Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), the committee was informed that it is included in phase one of the privatization list approved by the government in August 2024. ZTBL is currently in the process of hiring a financial advisor.

The Chairman Committee questioned the delay in hiring a financial advisor, noting that the last meeting was held on January 31st, when the bids were submitted and evaluated. He expressed concern that nearly six months had passed without finalizing the appointment. The ministry responded that the process typically takes six to eight weeks but was delayed due to high fee demands by one party by nearly Rs500 million, which is forcing a restart of the process.

LAST week, headline news on a leading private TV channel revealed that ‘a Sharif family meeting in Murree has approved the Punjab provincial government’s expansion’. The report simply reflects how the affairs of the government in the country’s biggest and most powerful province have virtually become a family enterprise.

There is nothing new about the dynastic stranglehold on Pakistani politics. But the kind of family rule that prevails in Punjab tells the story of an increasingly regressive power structure. Apparently, not only are decisions on important policy matters taken during family meetings, there is also a government-sponsored move to build a personality cult around former prime minister and head of the Sharif family Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz, Punjab’s chief minister.

It seems that most major government development projects in the province are named after either of the two. There has also been a move to rename some of the old government-run projects after the chief minister. Meanwhile, the provincial government has been running massive ad campaigns praising its own performance in various spheres, with life-sized pictures of the chief minister. Many also carry the image of her father.

This publicity drive is apparently being carried out at government expense. Recently, posters referring to the chief minister as ‘Madr-i-Millat’ (mother of the nation) appeared in the province. This campaign may not be sponsored by the provincial government but has certainly been orchestrated by the ruling party. Even with dynastic politics being the name of the game in Pakistan, rarely has the country witnessed this scale of personal glorification. Such campaigns are only seen in authoritarian regimes which lack legitimacy. But these publicity measures are short-lived and cannot serve the objective. Legitimacy and popularity cannot be won on the back of state-sponsored publicity drives. This kind of personalised publicity drive, paid for by the people’s tax money, is beyond narcissism and has clear political aims. In fact, placing personal photographs in government-sponsored ads and naming projects that use state funds after a sitting government head is seen as illegal in many countries.

The Sharifs’ personalised publicity seen in Punjab has clear political aims.

Even in Pakistan, a Supreme Court ruling in 2022, quoted by Naeem Sadiq on these pages, declared: “Paid servants of the state, constitutional office holders and politicians in government must not use their positions for personal, partisan or pecuniary gain”. It further noted: “Pakistan is not a kingdom, principality or fiefdom in which the people are to be beholden to their rulers.”

It seems that the country has actually been turned into a fiefdom where there is no respect for rules or moral values. Self-glorification of the ruling family, which returned to power with a questionable mandate, makes a mockery of the democratic process. Power is concentrated in the hands of the prime minister and the chief minister of the biggest province — both belong to the Sharif family.

Could this have happened without the establishment’s support? This self-glorification campaign is not limited to civilians and extends to the military leadership. It seems that the entire image-building effort for the civilian and military leadership is part of a concerted plan to strengthen the existing hybrid power structure. Behind the civilian façade, the spectre of those wielding the real power looms large. The Sharif family appears content to play second fiddle. After all, the family owed its return to power to the backing of the powers that be.

More than anyone, the Sharif family should know the slippery slope of power politics. They have been on it many times in the past and were swept away by the fast-shifting sands of Pakistani politics. Yet the lure of power is so strong that they tend to forget their own example. They have readily become an instrument in the move to undermine democracy. Their own return to po­­wer is the result of a manipulated electoral process, which also explains the fragility of a fabricated power structure lacking popular mandate.

It was a remarkable turn of events that allowed the once-disgraced family to return to the corridors of power. Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif was unceremoniously removed by the Supreme Court in 2017 and barred for life from holding public office through a controversial verdict the following year. He, along with his daughter and other members of the family, were convicted on multiple graft charges.

After being ousted from power, he and his party tried to mobilise public support on the back of the slogan ‘give respect to the vote’. But all the pro-democracy and anti-establishment rhetoric was set aside once a deal was struck. In less than four years after his exit, the PML-N was back in power, with Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother becoming prime minister in the new set-up formed after the removal of Imran Khan through a vote of no-confidence in parliament made possible by behind-the-scenes elements.

But the elder Sharif waited for the announcement of the elections before returning to the country. In no time, his convictions were overturned by the courts and his disqualification was lifted. He was sure of his party sweeping the polls, so it must have come as a rude shock when the counting started. He lost in Mansehra and his victory in Lahore was questionable. His dream of becoming prime minister was dashed. But the establishment’s backing for his party was assured no matter what the real results were.

Most Sharif family members who were earlier convicted and suffered prison are now part of the power structure, although Nawaz Sharif has opted to stay in the background and lead the party. He seems happy with his daughter becoming the first woman chief minister of Punjab and with himself being glorified as a great leader and helmsman. The great champion of democracy does not seem to have any problem now when the sanctity of the vote is being crushed.

The writer is an author and journalist.

zhussain100@yahoo.com

X: @hidhussain

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2025

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s meteorological department on Tuesday warned of glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs), flash floods and landslides in the country’s mountainous northern regions, as the national death toll from monsoon-related incidents climbed to 242, including at least 116 children.

The warning comes amid ongoing heavy monsoon rains that have battered the country since late June, triggering urban flooding, house collapses and deadly flash floods.

At least 21 people, including 12 children, died in the past 24 hours alone, according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with many of the fatalities reported from drowning, building collapses and fast-moving floodwaters.

The worst-hit province has been Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous region, where at least 135 people have died. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reported 56 fatalities, followed by 24 in Sindh, 16 in Balochistan, six in the federal capital of Islamabad, three in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and two in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“In continuation to the GLOF alert issued dated July 15, the wet spell is likely to continue and can affect KP and GB in the current week,” the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a public statement.

“The prevailing weather conditions increase the risk of GLOFs, flashfloods, and landslide events in vulnerable glaciated regions of GB and KP.”

Glacier lake outburst floods, sudden discharges of water from glacial lakes, are a growing threat in Pakistan’s north due to accelerated glacial melting driven by climate change. These floods can inundate entire valleys in minutes, destroying roads, homes and livelihoods.

The PMD also warned of landslides and mudslides in areas such as Murree, Galliyat, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, cautioning that roads could be blocked and essential connectivity disrupted.

Heavy rains are forecast to continue until July 25.

CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS

On Tuesday, urban flooding also hit the capital Islamabad, with viral videos showing cars swept away by torrents of water in Saidpur Village and the upscale Defense Housing Authority (DHA) neighborhood.

One video widely circulated on social media showed a vehicle submerged in floodwater, with a man inside calling for help.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over reports of a father and daughter believed to have drowned in the DHA flooding and directed authorities to expedite rescue operations across flood-affected areas.

The monsoon season typically brings 70 to 80 percent of South Asia’s annual rainfall, arriving in June in India and slightly later in Pakistan. While vital for agriculture, the rains also wreak havoc in countries with fragile infrastructure, poor drainage and high vulnerability to climate shocks.

Pakistan, home to more than 7,000 glaciers, is consistently ranked among the countries most at risk from climate change, despite contributing less than 1 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions. It has seen increasingly erratic weather patterns in recent years, including record-breaking heatwaves, droughts, and severe storms.

In May, at least 32 people were killed in separate incidents of torrential rainfall and hailstorms across the country.

In 2022, catastrophic floods caused by a combination of unprecedented monsoon rains and glacial melt submerged nearly a third of Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people and displacing over 8 million.

That disaster inflicted an estimated $30 billion in economic losses and prompted repeated UN calls for global climate reparations.