After an intense and unusually well-publicised competitive second round of bidding, the consortium led by Arif Habib Group has acquired 75 percent stake of Pakistan International Airlines for Rs135 billion. The buyer also retains the option to acquire the remaining 25 percent for another Rs45 billion, gradually reducing the state to a minority – or without any stake.

The buyer buys the Pakistan flag, the control of Pakistan’s national airline, its past glory and multiple soft and tangible assets, but not its past mistakes and accumulated losses.

The government has hailed the outcome as a landmark success being content that the sale is Rs20 billion higher than its initial offer and Rs35 billion above the reserve price – notwithstanding the fact that of the Rs135 billion purchase price, only Rs10 billion will flow to the government as immediate cash with a commitment that the remainder will be invested into the airline in stages. All prime real estate and vacant plots have been carved out. There is no hidden property windfall here—only an airline that has been bleeding for years.

But beyond the celebratory press releases lies a harder truth: this transaction is less about victory and more about last-chance survival and surrender. The sale of PIA is neither a national tragedy nor a triumphant reform. It is a calculated gamble taken after years of mis-governance left no alternatives. Pakistan has sold control of its flag carrier not because it wanted to but because it had exhausted every other option.

Moving beyond the sale are some searching........

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