When Fixing PIA Became a National Offence

PIA’s privatisation has sparked national outrage, exposing Pakistan’s deep mistrust of reform, media noise, and a culture of complaint, even as private investors attempt to fix the long-ailing national airline.

By Imran Malik – Editor-in-Chief MediaBites

For decades, we mocked PIA for being broken. Now that someone is trying to fix it, we are furious, confused, and suspicious all at once, proving the airline’s biggest problem may never have been aviation.

PIA is Pakistan’s national airline. Or it was. Or perhaps it is still searching for its identity, much like the country that owns it. For years, the story never changed. Political interference, weak governance, and the culture of rewarding favourites pushed PIA into losses running into hundreds of billions of rupees. By the government’s own figures, accumulated losses crossed Rs 650 billion, turning the airline into a symbol of state failure.

Passengers knew the drill. Delayed flights. Uncomfortable seats. No entertainment, even on long international routes. Complaints became routine, almost patriotic. Criticising PIA was one thing Pakistanis could all agree on.

Then came privatisation. And suddenly, agreement disappeared.

PIA was sold for around Rs 135 billion through an open, televised bidding process. Multiple groups participated. The Arif Habib Group placed the highest bid and won. Out of this amount, the government will receive only Rs 10 billion in direct cash, while the remaining sum is earmarked for debt adjustment, restructuring, and future growth of the airline.

In plain terms, the buyer did not walk away with the money. The money stays with the airline.

Yet this is where national outrage took off. Critics asked why the government’s cash share was so small. Others argued the airline was sold cheap. Few paused to consider that PIA’s debts had already been shifted to make the deal possible, or that the state was bleeding billions every year to keep the airline alive.

Then came the publicity question. The way the government promoted the bid, and the sizeable budget reportedly used by Ataullah Tarar’s ministry, raised eyebrows. If the process was fully transparent, people wondered, why the heavy advertising? In Pakistan, even transparency must be suspect.

Now everyone has a story. One camp says PIA was a national asset sold at throwaway prices. Another says the government finally did what it should have done decades ago. And some are simply criticising because the camera is on and the microphone is free.

As a nation, we appear impossible to satisfy. We called PIA a disaster when it was state-run. Now someone claims they can turn it into a competitive international airline, and that too becomes a problem.

Meanwhile, Pakistani talk shows have turned the issue into prime-time theatre. Serious debate has given way to shouting matches. Perhaps that is why many viewers have quietly switched to dramas. At least dramas follow one storyline.

For now, the new owners appear determined to fix what years of mismanagement destroyed. Whether they succeed remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear.

PIA’s story is no longer just about an airline. It is about us, our mistrust, our noise, and our habit of being angriest when change finally arrives.