Independent Report
Peshawar | December 24: Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information and Public Relations, Shafi Jan, has strongly criticized the federal government’s privatization policy, terming the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) a flawed and unjustifiable decision.
He said PIA, a national symbol and once a profitable institution, was destroyed due to prolonged political interference, nepotism and corruption by successive federal governments lacking public mandate. Shafi Jan maintained that selling the airline at what he described as a throwaway price reflected incompetence and disregard for national dignity and employees’ futures.
He questioned how retaining only a 7.5 percent share from a Rs135 billion bid could be termed success, adding that weak economic vision and poor governance had discouraged foreign investment and deepened economic instability.
He also blamed corruption for the collapse of institutions like Utility Stores, saying inflation continued to burden the public due to ineffective federal policies.
