Pakistan to sell PIA to meet IMF conditions, Munir-linked ‘Fauji’ firm among bidders

Pakistan is gearing up for its first major privatisation in two decades as it prepares to auction a majority stake between 51% and 100% in its struggling national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), as per reports. The selloff, scheduled for December 23, is a key requirement under Islamabad’s ongoing $7-billion IMF programme.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly said the bidding process would be broadcast live nationwide, as he met the four shortlisted bidders in Islamabad on Wednesday. The pre-qualified contenders include Lucky Cement Consortium, Arif Habib Corporation Consortium, Air Blue Limited and Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited-part of the powerful military-run Fauji Foundation.

This sale marks a crucial step in Pakistan’s attempts to stabilise an economy battered by years of mismanagement, mounting debt, and a collapsing public sector.

The inclusion of Fauji Fertiliser highlights once again how deeply the military establishment is embedded in Pakistan’s commercial landscape. Although Army Chief General Asim Munir holds no formal seat on the Fauji Foundation board, he exerts influence through appointments including the Quartermaster General-who sits on the Foundation’s Central Board of Directors-and through the military’s overarching institutional presence.

Pakistan’s fiscal crisis has entered a new and precarious phase. What was once an exercise in borrowing to avoid default has now morphed into the forced sale of national assets including airlines, airports and energy infrastructure to secure short-term relief.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has become a globe-trotting envoy of Pakistan’s financial desperation. One week he is in Washington pushing for IMF funds, the next, in Riyadh or Abu Dhabi, offering stakes in state enterprises to investors. In effect, he has turned into a broker of last resort, trading away what remains of Pakistan’s economic sovereignty to keep the country solvent.

Despite decades of warnings, Pakistan has failed to address the structural roots of its economic decay, entrenched elite capture, chronic inefficiency, and the military’s oversized role in national decision-making. As a result, the country has been hovering near default for over three years. In 2022, it narrowly escaped a sovereign collapse. In 2023, inflation peaked at around 38%, while foreign exchange reserves plunged to $8.7 billion.

Since then, Pakistan has survived on successive IMF bailouts, deferred loans from China, and energy payment facilities from Gulf nations—lifelines that have bought time but not reform.

The numbers reflect the fragility. External debt remains above $130 billion, while foreign exchange reserves hover around $19 billion—barely enough for six weeks of imports. Inflation continues to whiplash between 3% and 38%. The rupee has weakened beyond 285 per dollar. Fuel prices are high, with petrol at roughly PKR 265 per litre and diesel near PKR 275.

Unemployment stands at around 8%, while nearly 40% of the population faces multidimensional poverty, according to the UNDP.

(With inputs from syndicated feed)