ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The Senate was informed on Wednesday that the government had intervened at the highest level to point out loopholes in PIA's plan to replace the Fokker-27 fleet with Bombardier Dash8-300 aircraft.

The information was placed before the Senate in response to a question by Senator Ghafoor Ahmed who had sought details about the plan. The reply placed before the house by Minister of Defence Rao Sikander Iqbal showed that the government had taken notice of the decision taken by the PIA board of directors approving the induction of seven new aircraft.

The minister said the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet had reviewed the proposal submitted by the PIA management. The financial expertise of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz helped to identify flaws in the Bombardier deal.

The senate was told that the deal required a guarantee from the government of Pakistan. The government refused to give the guarantee and directed the PIA to submit revised financial proposals.