Federal Commerce Minister Engineer Khurram Dasgir Khan said on Friday that privatisation was not an easy task in the world and governments took this step for reformation of economy and the institutions.

He said that the present government while maintaining the people’s ownership of the PIA, committed to improve performance of the PIA with a strategic partner and putting in place professional management so as to largely facilitate the air passengers.

He expressed these views while talking to the media persons after inaugurating an exhibition ‘Hunnar Mand Pakistan’ and later visit to Lahore International Book Fair-2016 here at Expo Centre.

Khan also expressed his profound grief and sorrow over the loss of three precious lives during the protests of the PIA employees. He said that Pakistan International Airline Corporation (PIA) had been demanding up to Rs 40 billion subsidies every year that had not been carved out from the national exchequer but actually from the pocket of common man, adding that according to experts, 20 new hospitals could be constructed with this huge amount.

He said currently, the PIA was not delivering efficiently and though it

was very difficult phase, it was indispensable to transform the PIA into an international standard airline and government is committed to bring in professionals to run affairs of the national flag carrier for the sack of economic good of the country.

Dastgir also made it clear that present government was going to privatise those institutions which were approved by Council of Common Interests (CCI) in 2011 during previous PPP tenure. The PIA was also among that CCI’s approved list, he added.

To a question, he said that around Rs 58 billion refund claims of the previous budget had been settled down and the government was trying hard to clear all claims of the exporters by December 31, asserting that efforts were also being made to radically reduce the tax ratio level to avoid huge backlog of refund claims that would ensure availability of sufficient cash with the exporters.

To another question, Khan said that there was no problem in the exports of finished textile products including garment under the GSP Plus, however, Pakistan witness decline in the exports of raw textile materials including raw cotton and gray cloth due to economic slowdown in China, the principal buyer of raw textile materials from Pakistan. Today, China’s economic growth rate was as low as 6.8 percent in last 15 years of her economic history.

The federal minister said that Ministry of Commerce in collaboration with Ministry of Textile Industry and National Food Security was trying to switch entire Pakistan’s textile industry over to value addition.

The federal minister said that Pakistani nation, craftsmen, artisan and businessmen and industrialists had much talent and potential, as today Pakistan was successfully ridding herself of terrorism and extremism and “if we move with this spirit and vigor, Pakistan will be advancing leap and bound on economic front.”

The exhibitions aimed at promoting products crafted and manufactured at small scale and in small cities and the exhibition would also help transform these low-level entrepreneurs into major sectors of economy in future, he added.

He mentioned that government was also planning to organize ‘Hunnar Mand Pakistan Expo’ in five other cities including Faisalabad, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta to promote the underdeveloped sectors, while following the model of Lahore Expo Center to present the potential and talent of country’s craftsmanship to the world. The government, he assured, would provide institutional support to these entrepreneurs for expansion of their businesses and promotion of their artistic work.

He said the upcoming Trade Policy would also be focused on provision of an international structure including subsidy, marketing and capacity-building to enable the country’s business and trade community to have an easy access to world markets and also get international standardization of their products.