LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government has reconstituted the board of directors of the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Wednesday.
The new board consists of prominent businessmen – Aslam Khaliq, Mian Mohammad Mansha, Naseer N.S. Jaffer, Arif Habib, Sarfaraz A. Rehman and Imran Khan. Aviation Secretary Mohammad Ali Gardezi and Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan are ex-officio members of the board.
“The PML-N government has taken the decision in haste because the new board will have to undergo a lengthy process of approving acquisition of new planes, which the PIA needs without delay,” Omar Sharif Bokhari, a member of the dissolved board.
Bokhari said the government should have filled the vacant slots on the board, instead of dissolving it.
“The new members will take not less than six months to understand the matters in the national flag carrier,” he said.
Bokhari said some members of dissolved board, despite having been associated with the previous government, had expressed dissent on certain deals.
He said the outgoing board had approved acquisition of eight narrow-bodied fuel-efficient planes this year on lease “and this proposal again needs the approval of the new board that may create problems for PIA”.
PIA spokesman Mashhood Tajwar said the tenders for new planes (approved by the previous board) had been floated and would not be affected by the reconstitution of the board.
The government has also advertised for the post of managing director and the hiring process will begin after two weeks.
