RAWALPINDI: Five associations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees have sent legal notices asking the government and the Privatisation Commission to make available documents regarding a proposed privatisation plan.

The Aircraft Technologists’ Association, Society of Aircraft Engineers, Officers Association, Cabin Crew Association and the CBA of the PIA sent the notices through their lawyer, Barrister Safiullah Ghauri.

The notices were sent to the Privatisation Commission, Ministry of Finance, Aviation Division, the Prime Minister’s Special Adviser on Aviation Shujaat Azeem and the PIA’s chief operating officer.

The associations demanded disclosure of documents related to privatisation of the airline as a fundamental right to information that pertained to the sale of a national asset.

The list of documents demanded include those about cabinet and parliamentary proceedings, bidding, assigning advisers, valuation of the PIA and those proving that the government had followed requisite conditions and kept in view various other socio-economic aspects of privatisation.

“Failure to provide us these documents will be construed as an attempt to sell off a national asset with secret and nefarious designs and we will have no remedy but to approach a court,” Barrister Ghauri told Dawn.

When contacted, the Privatisation Commission’s Chairman Muhammad Zubair said the move was not in his knowledge but “there is no need to send a legal notice for getting information about the privatisation plan because we did not hide any plan from anyone and it was open for the general public and as well as for the employees of the organisation which would be privatised”.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2016