Pareesa Afreen 
Nov 21, 2025
View of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane, taken through a glass panel, at Islamabad International Airport, Pakistan October 3, 2023. — Reuters
The federal government has confirmed that it is going to privatise 75% of Pakistan International Airlines’ shares. However, this will be on the condition that after the sale, the name and theme of the airline must not change.
The development came during the detailed briefing to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the high-level meeting held in Islamabad on Thursday.
He instructed the officials to complete all stages of PIA privatisation without any delays and with complete transparency.
The prime minister also ordered the authorities to prepare an action plan for increasing the number of aircraft that are airworthy and maintaining timely flight operations.
The meeting was attended by the officials from the four parties that have been pre-qualified to participate in the bidding round, which is expected shortly.
Under the privatisation plan, the PIA fleet is expected to increase from the current 18 aircraft to 38 by 2029. The airline currently operates to over 30 cities, with a projected increase in its network to over 40 cities within the same period.
