<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Aaj TV English News - Pakistan</title>
    <link>https://english.aaj.tv/</link>
    <description>Aaj TV English</description>
    <language>en-Us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright 2026</copyright>
    <pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 02:41:56 +0500</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 02:41:56 +0500</lastBuildDate>
    <ttl>60</ttl>
    <item xmlns:default="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
      <title>Financial advisor paid over Rs1 billion for PIA privatisation, but process remains incomplete</title>
      <link>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330404681/financial-advisor-paid-over-rs1-billion-for-pia-privatisation-but-process-remains-incomplete</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation has revealed that a financial advisor appointed for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was paid over Rs1.2 billion, yet the process remains incomplete.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The committee, chaired by Dr Farooq Sattar, held a meeting where Privatisation Commission Secretary Usman Bajwa briefed members on the stalled privatization of the national flag carrier.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He disclosed that the financial advisor had already received Rs1.2 billion out of a total of Rs1.9 billion (approximately $6.9 million) earmarked for the project, meaning 63 per cent of the total payment had been made.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Bajwa clarified that the remaining payment would only be disbursed once the privatisation process is completed. He also noted that the last bidding round for PIA was deemed unacceptable.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Also, read this&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330401107/government-makes-another-effort-to-sell-debt-ridden-pia"&gt;Government makes another effort to sell debt-ridden PIA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330400062/pakistan-seeks-revival-of-uk-flights-as-caa-audit-begins"&gt;Pakistan seeks revival of UK flights as CAA audit begins&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330403488/pia-plane-narrowly-escapes-major-accident-after-emergency-landing"&gt;PIA plane narrowly escapes major accident after emergency landing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The committee was informed that PIA Holdings owns 26 properties, while PIACL (PIA Corporation Limited) has five.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A high-value plot in Islamabad’s Blue Area, estimated at Rs10-12 billion, remains undecided in terms of its future utilisation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;    &lt;figure class='media  sm:w-1/3  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven'&gt;
        &lt;div class='media__item  media__item--newskitlink  '&gt;    &lt;iframe
        class="nk-iframe" 
        width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:250px;position:relative"
        src="https://english.aaj.tv/news/card/330404619"
        sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
        
    &lt;/figure&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The privatisation secretary also briefed the committee on Sky Hotel Paris and Roosevelt Hotel in New York, both of which are commercial properties owned by PIA Holdings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He stated that Roosevelt Hotel’s existing contract will expire in May, after which a three-month notice will be issued to clear its status.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
      <content:encoded xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><![CDATA[<p><strong>The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privatisation has revealed that a financial advisor appointed for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was paid over Rs1.2 billion, yet the process remains incomplete.</strong></p>
<p>The committee, chaired by Dr Farooq Sattar, held a meeting where Privatisation Commission Secretary Usman Bajwa briefed members on the stalled privatization of the national flag carrier.</p>
<p>He disclosed that the financial advisor had already received Rs1.2 billion out of a total of Rs1.9 billion (approximately $6.9 million) earmarked for the project, meaning 63 per cent of the total payment had been made.</p>
<p>Bajwa clarified that the remaining payment would only be disbursed once the privatisation process is completed. He also noted that the last bidding round for PIA was deemed unacceptable.</p>
<p>Also, read this</p>
<p><a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330401107/government-makes-another-effort-to-sell-debt-ridden-pia">Government makes another effort to sell debt-ridden PIA</a></p>
<p><a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330400062/pakistan-seeks-revival-of-uk-flights-as-caa-audit-begins">Pakistan seeks revival of UK flights as CAA audit begins</a></p>
<p><a href="https://english.aaj.tv/news/330403488/pia-plane-narrowly-escapes-major-accident-after-emergency-landing">PIA plane narrowly escapes major accident after emergency landing</a></p>
<p>The committee was informed that PIA Holdings owns 26 properties, while PIACL (PIA Corporation Limited) has five.</p>
<p>A high-value plot in Islamabad’s Blue Area, estimated at Rs10-12 billion, remains undecided in terms of its future utilisation.</p>
<p>    <figure class='media  sm:w-1/3  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven'>
        <div class='media__item  media__item--newskitlink  '>    <iframe
        class="nk-iframe" 
        width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="height:250px;position:relative"
        src="https://english.aaj.tv/news/card/330404619"
        sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms"></iframe></div>
        
    </figure></p>
<p>The privatisation secretary also briefed the committee on Sky Hotel Paris and Roosevelt Hotel in New York, both of which are commercial properties owned by PIA Holdings.</p>
<p>He stated that Roosevelt Hotel’s existing contract will expire in May, after which a three-month notice will be issued to clear its status.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
      <category>Pakistan</category>
      <guid>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330404681</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 25 Feb 2025 21:07:44 +0500</pubDate>
      <author>none@none.com (Yasir Nazar)</author>
      <media:content url="https://i.aaj.tv/large/2025/02/25210322f77bdd6.jpg?r=210435" type="image/jpeg" medium="image" height="170" width="297">
        <media:thumbnail url="https://i.aaj.tv/thumbnail/2025/02/25210322f77bdd6.jpg?r=210435"/>
        <media:title>File photo
</media:title>
      </media:content>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>
