KARACHI: Chairman of the Arif Habib Consortium, the entity owning Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Arif Habib has said that the national flag carrier currently has 30 aircraft, of which 18 are operational, while five to six aircraft require repair and maintenance.
Speaking to industrialists at the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), he said the airline was in the process of recovering these aircraft and adding them back to the fleet. He added that the long-term target was to expand the fleet to 60 aircraft.
The event was attended by KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput, Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya, Vice President Muhammad Talha Ali, CPLC Chief Zubair Habib, ABAD Chairman Hasan Bakhshi and others, along with senior officials.
Arif Habib said it was an honour to represent the business community at the government level and that he made every effort to apprise the government of the issues facing Industry.
He said Pakistan had become economically more stable, and that this fiscal year’s figures showed the government had increased revenue, met all expenditures and also paid interest on debt. However, he stressed that economic growth required a reduction in production costs.
ABAD Chairman Hasan Bakhshi said the business community was among the key stakeholders and had the ability to run institutions profitably and more efficiently.
Earlier, KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Asim Munir and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had raised Pakistan’s stature at the global level. Ikram Rajput paid tribute to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir, saying their services for national security and stability were commendable.
KATI Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya, KITE Limited Chairman Zahid Saeed ,United Business Group Chairman Khalid Tawab, CPLC Chief Zubair Habib, UBG President Zubair Tufail, former KATI President Masood Naqi, Danish Khan and Vice President Muhammad Talha Ali also spoke at the event.
