At the Islamabad airport, PIA workers hold a sit-in and threaten to halt flights due to privatization.

In protest of the proposed privatization of the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees staged a sit-in at Islamabad International Airport on Friday. If their demands are not met, they threatened to cease flight operations.

President Ramzan Laghari, general secretary Sohail Mukhtar, and other office-bearers attended the demonstration, which was organized by the People’s Unity of PIA Employees Union. The protesters chanted slogans and pledged to “go the extra mile” to prevent what they described as an airline sell-off.

Union officials told the demonstrators that privatization under the guise of reform would not be permitted to devolve into “daylight robbery.” If privatization was to proceed, they insisted on clear assurances on job security.

PIA’s operations would be shut down by its personnel if they were forced to do so, General Secretary Sohail Mukhtar said. He went on to say that protests would be held in all of the main cities, including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta.

It should be mentioned that the federal government has set December 23 as the date for the PIA sale, and that the procedure is already being prepared for.