PM Shehbaz seeks schedule of implementation of PIA privatization

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a high-level meeting directed the Privatization Ministry to present the final schedule for the implementation of the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Wednesday.

He presided over a high-level meeting regarding the privatization of PIA and the restructuring of the Federal Board of Revenue in Islamabad today, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The Prime Minister talked about ensuring transparency at all stages in the privatization process of the national flag carrier and clarified that laziness and carelessness will not be tolerated in this regard.

According to the details, the progress of the privatization of PIA so far and the upcoming steps in this regard were reviewed in the meeting.

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The Prime Minister further directed the Law Ministry to immediately make recommendations for the resolution of pending cases and legal disputes in the courts related to tax collections and revenue so that the hurdles in the way of disbursement of 1.7 trillion rupees to the national exchequer can be resolved.

He also directed to submit proposals regarding the establishment of the legal department in the Federal Board of Revenue.

Shehbaz Sharif said there is no time to waste and expressed resolve to work round the clock to achieve this goal. He said this is the question of the country’s bright future and economic recovery.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister called for introducing an incentive-based tax system to modernize the tax and revenue system. He asked the business community to play its role in the development and social service of the people of the country.

On this occasion, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar told the meeting that the tax on GDP in Pakistan is less than 9.5 percent as compared to the rest of the world, which is very important for the development of Pakistan.