ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Secretary Information Shazia Marri on Wednesday said the open skies policy causes historic losses to the national airline and weakens key state institutions under the guise of privatisation.
Addressing a press conference along with PPP Secretary General Hamayun Khan, Marri said the stance of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the party on the privatisation is clear, adding that the PPP always treats the issue with seriousness and responsibility.
She said the federal government should stop repeatedly raising slogans of privatisation and instead adopt a workable public-private partnership model.
She said it is unacceptable that the government moves towards privatising important institutions without protecting assets and employees. She added that public-private partnership should be the preferred model, noting that it is successfully operating in Sindh.
According to her, privatisation of the national airline must ensure protection of employees and assets, as selling institutions is not a solution.
Marri further said the finance minister repeatedly acknowledges that Sindh’s public-private partnership model is effective and needs to be adopted at the federal level.
She urged the prime minister to direct the cabinet to run institutions through partnership with the private sector where the government is unable to manage them efficiently.
She said that a statement by former minister caused losses of around $600 million to the national airline over the past four years, resulting in pilots and staff losing their jobs. She demanded accountability, saying those responsible for damaging the national airline must be held to account. She said that the airline is deliberately weakened to pave the way for privatisation and stressed that privatisation is not the solution. She called for a thorough investigation into the airline’s losses.
The PPP leader said buildings owned by the national airline are worth billions of rupees, yet deals worth Rs10 billion are made, while figures of Rs135 billion are quoted for its sale.
She said profits are privatized, while losses are transferred to the government.
She said despite assurances, the PPP was repeatedly not taken into confidence on legislation, including the promulgation of an ordinance, which should have been discussed with coalition partners.
Quoting PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, she said lawmaking must be based on consultation and consensus, adding that the party had only recently learnt about a proposed joint session of parliament scheduled for the 20th.
Raising environmental concerns, Shazia Marri said large-scale cutting of trees is underway in Islamabad, despite the country facing severe impacts of climate change.
She said that climate change leads to floods and Pakistan bears the cost of these damages, while being among the most affected countries globally. She claimed nearly 30,000 trees are cut and said the PPP raises the issue in parliament, as parliamentarians across parties express concerns.
She said the interior minister’s responses raise more questions and that tree cutting raises serious concerns about transparency. She demanded clarity on how many trees are cut and how many are replanted, adding that people see trees being felled but not replanted. She questioned why press conferences are held on every issue except the cutting of trees.
On the energy crisis, the PPP leader said the country faces severe electricity load-shedding, with areas like Sanghar experiencing outages of up to 20 hours a day, along with illegal billing. She questioned the legality of excessive billing practices and warned that if the situation is dire in winter, summers will be even worse.
She also highlighted gas shortages, saying 70 percent of gas is produced in Sindh, yet Karachi and rural areas face shortages.
She demanded the prime minister take notice of the situation and reminded the government of its promise to take coalition partners into confidence on legislation.
She said issuing an ordinance without the president’s signature is a criminal act and stressed that the PPP should be consulted on such matters.
Meanwhile, PPP Secretary General Humayun Khan said that forests in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been destroyed over the past 13 years and condemned the issuance of an ordinance without the approval of President Asif Ali Zardari, demanding action against those responsible.
He said the PPP was part of the ruling coalition solely to uphold democracy and the Constitution.
