KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party will resist privatisation of Pakistan International Airline and other national institutions, because it is against the national interest, said PPP Senator Raza Rabbani on Thursday.

He added that instead of putting national security at stake by disposing of sensitive national and profit-making institutions, the government should discharge its basic responsibility to protect them.

The PPP additional secretary general was addressing a demonstration staged by PIA Peoples Unity outside the Karachi Press Club.

Terming the privatisation policy ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘illegal’, he urged the chief ministers of all the provinces that they should not allow the government to privatise any unit without its prior approval from the Council of Common Interests.

Mr Rabbani said that the government under the cover of a CCI decision wanted to proceed with the privatisation policy that was unconstitutional after the 18th amendment in the constitution by which the government was bound to take approval of the CCI before proceeding to privatise any national unit.

He said the government had no right to sell national institutions at throwaway prices to the investors who had been giving financial help to the Pakistan Muslim League. In the previous tenure, he said, the Nawaz government had handed over the Muslim Commercial Bank to his friend, Mian Mansha.

The PPP senator said that instead of disposing of the sensitive national institutions, the government should bring an end to loadshedding and lawlessness while creating atmosphere conducive for investment to install new industrial units.

He said the PPP would nevere support any policy aimed at rendering the people unemployed through retrenchment.

Senator Saeed Ghani said that PIA workers had to forge unity and take to the streets if they wanted to save PIA. They would find the PPP by their side, he added.He said the way the financial adviser for PIA privatisation was appointed exposed the plans of the government.

The rally was also addressed by Zamir Chandio and other leaders of PIA Peoples Unity.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2014