Islamabad, 27 July, 2023 (GNP): The Pakistan International Airlines’ (PIA) bank accounts have been frozen by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) over non-payment of taxes on Wednesday, according to the official sources.
The PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan said, there is a hope that bank accounts of the national carrier would soon be accessible.
Meanwhile, he informed that the flight operation and other activities of the national airline were ongoing as per routine despite its account freezing.
Also Read: PIA cleared remote audit by EASA
As per the sources, PIA owed the FBR approximately Rs2.8 billion in taxes. Nevertheless, the airline asserts that it owes around Rs1.3 billion in debt.
On the other hand, the officer’s association of PIA has rejected the reforming plan of the national flag carrier and asked for an immediate increase in the salaries of all employees.
In a meeting chaired by its president Aqeel Siddiqui on Wednesday, the association evaluated the board of directors’ recommendations for the PIA and rejected the suggested organizational restructuring, it said in a statement.
Moreover, the general secretary of the association Safdar Anjum said that the meeting repudiated the proposed division of the national airline.
Also Read: SC permitted PIA to appoint 205 experienced employees
Furthermore, the statement added that the meeting also called for a prompt increase in the salaries of PIA employees and construct a committee supervised by Safdar Anjum, to contact all stakeholders to formulate a future action plan.
The government has set-up a committee led by the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to provide a practical solution to reform the national airline.
Other members of the committee included Aviation Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Government Effectiveness Jahanzeb Khan and the aviation secretary.
