Arif Habib has reportedly bought Pakistan International Airlines in a deal valued around 135 billion rupees — and whether this turns into salvation or a fresh disaster is a question that now hangs heavy in the national air.

Because Pakistan International Airlines was never just an airline. It was once the soaring embodiment of national pride — the bird of dreams that carried a nation’s hopes across the sky. This was the same PIA that helped create Emirates, the same PIA whose name inspired global trust, whose cabin crew smiles became cultural identity. But life rarely follows fairy tales. Mismanagement, political interference, reckless hiring, corruption, misguided decision-making, and governmental complacency dragged this proud institution from the clouds to the ground. A symbol of pride slowly turned into a painful burden. And Pakistan finally reached the moment it kept postponing for decades — the moment to sell what once symbolized its prestige.

The latest privatization bidding shocked everyone. The Arif Habib–led consortium placed the highest offer of around Rs 135 billion, followed by Lucky Group and Airblue which trailed far behind. The government’s reserve price was 100 billion rupees, so the bid was instantly labeled “historic.” But numbers alone don’t answer the fundamental question: Is privatization truly a rescue operation? Or is this the opening page of another national crisis?

This was not the first attempt. The previous privatization exercise collapsed miserably when only a single bidder showed up with a humiliatingly low........

© Daily Times