Islamabad: Pakistan government is all set to sell its national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) complying with the directions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the country has plunged neck deep in financial crisis, India Today reported.
The four companies qualified for bidding include Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited, which is part of the Fauji Foundation with links to Pakistan’s most powerful person today, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
While meeting bidders in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly said that ‘PIA's bidding will take place on December 23, 2025, which will be broadcast live on all media’.
Among the conditions that the IMF set while allocating a $7-billion economic package to Pakistan was divestment of 51-100% in the struggling PIA, Dawn said.
Pakistan's Privatisation Minister Muhammad Ali made it clear last month that the government was targeting Rs 86 billion in proceeds from privatization this year with 15 per cent of proceeds from PIA sale going to the government, the rest remaining within the company.
The divestment of PIA stakes is the country’s first major privatization bid in two decades.
Pakistan’s Dawn reported that ‘Four bidders have been pre-qualified for the sale: Lucky Cement Consortium, Arif Habib Corporation Consortium, Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited and Air Blue Limited’.
Asim Munir , nonetheless holding a direct position on the Central Board of Directors (CBDs) of Fauji Foundation, exerts indirect influence over Fauji Foundation through the military's institutional control and appointments to key positions such as the Quartermaster General (QMG) who is part of the CBD of the Fauji Foundation, according to the report.
Embroiled in crisis, the divestment of PIA is crucial for Pakistan as it is defaulting on its debts alongside taking loans to refinance loans just as major expenditure is still on defence forces.
The IMF has disbursed $1 billion of the $7-billion loan programme immediately after it was approved in September 2024 with the rest of the money to be given over a period of 3 years.