Maryam sounded me out about acquiring PIA: Nawaz

LONDON/NEW YORK: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said that his daughter and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz urged him to purchase the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and rebrand it as “Air Punjab”.

“Maryam said that we should buy PIA and name it Air Punjab after making it the best airline,” Nawaz said during a discussion in New York with party supporters.

While speaking to the Pakistani community in New York, the Pakistan Muslin League-Nawaz (PMLN) president stated that Maryam Nawaz suggested to him to buy the national flag carrier. Nawaz mentioned that he advised Maryam that she could start a new airline that would serve destinations all over the world. “I believe discussions have taken place on this matter.”

“Maryam suggested acquiring it and establishing a brand-new airline with brand new planes. She suggested that we give a brand-new airline to Pakistan and name it ‘Air Punjab. I told Maryam to have consultations around it. I told her that you can buy the PIA and also establish a new airline too and that Air Punjab should go from Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi to New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and every part of the world. I believe a discussion is taking place on this.”

At the same discussion, Nawaz Sharif lamented that under Imran Khan’s government the PIA went under water after PTI Minister Ghulam Sarwar said PIA pilots don’t have the required licences. “I am aggrieved at the destruction of PIA and those who did so are amongst us. Imran Khan cabinet minister Ghulam Sarwar said the pilots don’t have the licences. Can you imagine the damage caused? That was not true to start with but even if it was, should such a thing have been said publicly?”

The PMLN president expressed deep sadness over the decline of PIA, noting that he arrived in the US after changing flights. Nawaz’s statement comes a day after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government expressed its desire to purchase the PIA through a bid exceeding Rs10 billion after the airline attracted a minimal bid for privatisation. In a letter to the privatisation ministry on Friday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment stated their interest in participating in the privatisation process of PIA.