ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President of Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday expressed their shared commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation across all spheres.
The commitment was expressed during a telephonic call between the prime minister and Sri Lankan president. The prime minister conveyed heartfelt condolences to the people and Government of Sri Lanka, especially the bereaved families who had lost their loved ones in the catastrophic floods and landslides that claimed hundreds of precious lives and displaced thousands of people across the island. Shehbaz conveyed to the Sri Lankan president that as a gesture of its support, Pakistan was immediately dispatching urgently needed humanitarian assistance to assist the people of Sri Lanka to help them recover from the devastation caused by this natural disaster.
The Sri Lankan president thanked the prime minister for Pakistan’s expression of solidarity with the Sri Lankan nation at this difficult time, as well as for provision of the generous humanitarian assistance.
Later, the prime minister chaired a review meeting on Pakistan’s relief operations to Sri Lanka. Pakistan will also play an active role in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected areas, the prime minister said. According to the briefing, Pakistan’s Urban Search and Rescue team will depart for Sri Lanka tomorrow. Additional relief supplies will also be sent tomorrow via a commercial cargo ship, the briefing added.
The meeting was informed that Pakistan Navy’s ship Saif, which was deployed in Sri Lanka, was actively engaged in relief activities for the flood-affected people. It was also briefed that a helicopter onboard the Pakistan Navy ship had rescued a family that had been stranded for five days in Sri Lanka.Meanwhile, Pakistan is moving ahead with the long-awaited sell off of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The bidding round is scheduled for the second week of December. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has, to this effect, invited all pre qualified bidders to a luncheon at the Prime Minister’s House today (Wednesday). The bidding process is expected to take place between December 12 and 15, 2025, well placed officials told this scribe.
To ensure market appetite, officials said the government has undertaken extensive restructuring ahead of the privatisation. Authorities have carved out nearly Rs650 billion in legacy liabilities, giving PIA a cleaner balance sheet and improving its financial attractiveness to private buyers. Additional investor facilitation measures include exemption of advance GST on the import of aircraft and spare parts, removal of legacy FBR liabilities, assurance of a stable taxation framework, and relaxations in key provisions of the National Aviation Policy 2023. Officials say whichever consortium wins the bid will be required to immediately inject capital to upgrade the fleet, induct new generation aircraft and overhaul service standards to help restore the airline’s lost reputation and competitiveness.
