The Federal Cabinet on Tuesday approved the restructuring of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on the recommendation of the Privatization Division.
The cabinet, in its previous meeting, approved the appointment of a financial advisor for financial and administrative restructuring of the airlines.
In a meeting chaired by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the cabinet was told that the financial advisor had formulated a financial restructuring plan of PIA in line with international precedents under which the airlines will be divided into two companies, Top-Co and Hold-Co.
PIA’s core operations of engineering, ground handling, cargo, flight kitchen, and training will be incorporated into Top-Co, while other entities such as Precision Engineering Complex, PIA Investment Limited, and other subsidiaries and properties will be incorporated in Hold-Co. These measures will help attract capital investors to PIA.
The cabinet also directed the cabinet subcommittee on privatization to deal with matters related to the settlement of government-owned enterprises with PIA as soon as possible.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Privatization, the cabinet also approved the privatization of First Women Bank Limited.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of National Health, the cabinet approved the proposals regarding the deregulation of the prices of medicines that were not included in the national list of essential medicines.
Under these proposals, prices of medicines other than essential medicines on the national list will be exempted from the Drugs Act of 1976, and necessary amendments will be made to the Drug Pricing Policy 2018.
Furthermore, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council will ensure that doctors will not prescribe vitamins, multivitamins, minerals, and over-the-counter products to patients.
The Drug Regulatory Authority will compile a list of vitamins, multivitamins, minerals, and over-the-counter products as per the prevailing international standards and will also be in touch with the provincial governments in this regard.
The cabinet also approved the decisions taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee held on February 1, 2024.
Meanwhile, the cabinet approved the appointment of Lt. General Tahir Hameed Shah as a member and chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Board on the recommendation of the Ministry of Defense Production.
The appointment of Lt. General Tahir Hameed Shah will be effective on November 29, 2023.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the cabinet allowed Major Abid Mansoor Khan to receive awards of “Note-e-Shujaat” and “Note-e-Sharf” from the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia in recognition of his services.
The Federal Cabinet, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, permitted Protocol Officer Mohammad Ashraf Khan to receive a gold medal from the Government of Austria in recognition of his services.
Likewise the cabinet, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also permitted Air Commodore Syed Imran Ali to receive the “Defense Cooperation Award First Class” award in recognition of his services as Defense Attaché at the Pakistani Embassy in Tokyo.
On the recommendation of the Ministry of Law and Justice and the proposal of the Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court, the cabinet approved the conversion of 4 out of 8 accountability courts in Peshawar into special courts.
Apart from this, the proposal of Chief Justice Peshawar High Court was also approved by the cabinet regarding the appointment of judges of these courts. The remaining courts will continue to function as accountability courts. These changes will not incur any additional burden on the national exchequer.
