Federal Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan said on Wednesday that there was a need to identify those people who were responsible for the losses of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Speaking in the Senate, the minister said one thing was clear that ordinary employees of the airline had nothing to do with making it a loss-making entity. “The deficit of Rs830 billion the PIA is facing is not a development that took place overnight,” he said, adding, “As a matter of fact it is a long-standing issue.”

Aleem was of the view that everybody contributed to the situation the national flag carrier was confronted with today. “When an airline is short of planes, its employees become a burden on it,” he said, adding, “Presently only 18 planes of the airline are operational. What would the situation look like when more people would be recruited in such a situation?”

The minister assured the House that he would make sure that the PIA’s privatization was transparent. “I will ensure that I give no opportunity to anybody to point fingers at me,” Aleem said.

He said that the airline had the best pilots and crew members in the world. “I wish every government had focused its attention on resurrecting the national flag carrier,” he said.

It was with deep sorrow, the minister went on to say, that he was saying that the government could not run the PIA in the current circumstances. “The unchecked recruitment of people during the last 30 years is to blame for the airline’s crisis.”

Aleem made it clear that he was not pointing fingers at any particular government. “All I want is to set the record straight.”

“We need to look at our own contribution to the national flag carrier’s downfall,” he said, adding, “The employees of the PIA will keep working even three years after its privatization.”