Trademark mishandling
If the government did not factor in opposition, and treasury (in some cases), outcry into its controversial PIA ordinance, not to mention disgruntled employees and cancelled flights, then it just did not do its basic due diligence right. Dar sb did not help by contradicting himself during the explanation. First he mentioned that the ordinance was meant to turn the airline into a corporate entity. And while “independence and autonomy” are fine things, such exercises are meant to cut losses, remove dead weight, etc, and return enterprises to profitability. But then he also promised, on the floor of the house, that “there is absolutely no difference in the overall service structure of PIA employees or its assets and liabilities”. How, then, would the ‘corporate entity’ engineer a turnaround?
PIA, like most of our hemorrhaging Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), is the text book example of a bloated, mismanaged and corrupt enterprise of a typical third world country. For decades it has been stuffed by political appointees to gain and maintain political clout, and all this while phone calls, etc, not merit, have decided crucial appointments. Now, with losses standing around Rs300 billion, it is simply unsustainable. One way or the other, it needs to block leakages and return to profitability.
That, of course, would require tough measures to be pushed through. It is true that many among protesting employees represented corrupt interest groups that have been resisting reform for ages. And the government may well be sincere, as Dar sb said. But by approaching the matter so secretively, and keeping the opposition in the dark, it has made its own actions suspect. Khurshid Shah’s remark, that the government is “behaving like rulers who have absolutely no concern for the masses” rang loudly in the House, for good reason. PTI’s concerns about the timing of the ordinance, since PIA is not exactly in tip-top shape, are also valid, and the government will have to explain the rush. Paying heed to advice from treasury benches, and forming a joint committee, would be a good start.
