Pakistan will try to privatize its national airline before general elections due this year, privatization minister Daniyal Aziz said, as the ruling party seeks to restart sales of state-run businesses, Reuters reported. Pakistan International Airlines, hemorrhaging money and losing market share to Persian Gulf-based rivals such as Etihad and Emirates, has been hit by management turmoil in recent years and a 2016 plane crash that led to 47 deaths. The privatization of loss-making entities that were draining the exchequer was a key priority for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party when it swept to power in 2013. PIA was among 68 state-owned companies earmarked for privatization in return for a $6.7 billion International Monetary Fund package that helped Pakistan to stave off a default in 2013. Despite some initial success, the process stalled in 2016 after staff protests caused havoc with PIA operations and the government passed a law that effectively made it impossible to privatize the airline.
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