• Resolution demands urgent action against PIA and private airlines
• One-way fares to Karachi, Islamabad touch up to Rs70,000

QUETTA: The treasury and opposition members of the Balochistan Assembly on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the extraordinary increases in PIA and private airlines’ airfares for flights from Quetta to other cities of Pakistan.

The House unanimously adopted a resolution demanding immediate action against the national flag carrier and other airlines.

The resolution was moved by JUI-F MPA Shahida Rauf during a session presided over by Speaker Abdul Khaliq Achakzai. She highlighted sudden and disproportionate airfare hikes imposed by PIA and private carriers on flights originating from Quetta, noting that one-way fares to Karachi had surged to between Rs43,000 and Rs60,000, while fares to Islamabad had crossed Rs70, 000. In contrast, flights from Karachi to Lahore or Islamabad cost only Rs15,000 to Rs20, 000.

She said the price disparity reflected clear discrimination against the people of Balochistan and was severely affecting the province’s mobility, trade, and administrative connectivity with the rest of the country. With frequent highway closures and disruptions in rail services, she added, air travel remained the only reliable option for Balochistan’s residents — yet it had been made largely unaffordable.

She urged the provincial government to engage the federal government, the Ministry of Aviation, PIA, and private airlines to ensure that airfares from Quetta and other airports in the province were brought in line with rates elsewhere in the country. She also called for the formation of a parliamentary committee and demanded that airline officials be summoned to the assembly.

Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti termed the resolution significant, noting that while parliamentarians might manage the high fares, ordinary citizens could not. He said he had already written to the prime minister and spoken to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif about the matter. He invited parliamentary leaders to accompany him to Islamabad this week for meetings with the prime minister and the federal minister for aviation, taking the resolution along.

He warned that if airlines did not address the matter, the provincial government would exercise its authority and detain the managers of airlines working in Quetta under Section 16 of the MPO.

He said it was “unacceptable” that flights from Quetta were more expensive than flights to Dubai or major domestic routes such as Karachi–Islamabad or Karachi–Peshawar. He stressed that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was responsible for regulating private airlines and said the province would press the federal government to find a permanent solution.

Deputy Speaker Ghazala Gola said airfares had become “unbearable” for ordinary citizens and proposed that the resolution be adopted as a joint resolution of the entire House. Provincial Education Minister Raheela Hameed Durrani supported the suggestion and added that representatives of the Ministry of Aviation should also be summoned. She noted that fares were “exorbitant” and often increased “hour by hour,” calling for direct engagement with federal authorities in Islamabad.

BNP-Awami President Mir Asadullah Baloch strongly criticised the federal government for consistently ignoring assembly resolutions, saying real results would come only if lawmakers collectively ensured follow-up and implementation. Parliamentary Secretary Meena Majeed backed the resolution and proposed adding a demand for flights between Quetta, Turbat, and Gwadar.

ANP’s Engineer Zamarak Khan Achakzai said discriminatory treatment by airlines toward Balochistan was not new. He noted that private airlines were not operating from Quetta at all and that flights were frequently cancelled without notice. He demanded that private carriers be compelled to operate from Quetta and that airfares be standardised across the country. If grievances persisted, he suggested approaching the courts.

BAP’s Farah Azeem Shah and Parliamentary Secretary Barkat Rind also spoke, emphasising the severity of the issue and calling for weekly flights between Quetta and Turbat.

Adviser to the Chief Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Meena Majeed Baloch informed the House that she had paid Rs80,000 for a one-way ticket from Islamabad to Quetta.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2025