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Ahead of election, Pakistan seals plan to sell national airline

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Ahead of elections next week, Pakistan’s caretaker administration is making binding plans for a new government to sell loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIAa.PSX), opens new tab, according to the minister in charge of the process and other officials.

In the past, elected governments have shied away from undertaking unpopular reforms, including the sale of the flag carrier. But Pakistan, in deep economic crisis, agreed in June to overhaul loss-making state-owned enterprises under a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion bailout, Reuters reported.

The government decided to privatise PIA just weeks after signing the IMF agreement.

The caretaker administration, which took office in August to oversee the Feb. 8 election, was empowered by the outgoing parliament to take any steps needed to meet the budgetary targets agreed with the IMF.

“Our job is 98% done,” Privatisation Minister Fawad Hasan Fawad told Reuters when asked about the plan to sell the airline. “The remaining 2% is just to bring it on an excel sheet after the cabinet approves it.”

Fawad said the plan, drawn up by transaction adviser Ernst & Young, will be presented to the cabinet for approval before the tenure of the administration ends following the election. The cabinet will also decide whether to sell the stake by tender or through a government-to-government deal, Fawad said.

“What we have done in just four months is what past governments have been trying to do for over a decade,” Fawad said. “There is no looking back.”

Details of the privatisation process have not been previously reported.

PIA had liabilities of 785 billion Pakistani rupees ($2.81 billion) and accumulated losses of 713 billion rupees as of June last year. Its CEO has said losses in 2023 were likely to be 112 billion rupees.

Progress on the privatisation will be a key issue if the incoming government goes back to the IMF once the current bailout programme expires in March. Caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar told reporters last year that Pakistan would have to remain in IMF programmes after the expiry.

Two sources close to the process told Reuters that a 51% stake with full management control would be offered to buyers after parking the airline’s debts in a separate entity, under the 1,100 page report from Ernst & Young.

Reuters could not independently confirm the contents of the report. Fawad did not give specific details of the size of the stake to be sold, but confirmed the plan involved the carrier’s debts being spun off into a separate entity.

Ernst & Young did not respond to requests for comment.

PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said the airline was assisting the privatisation process, extending “full cooperation” to the transaction adviser.

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Trump backs down on strikes on Iran’s power network, says US and Tehran holding talks

Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait, which ​carries a ⁠fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.

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President Donald Trump backed down on targeting Iran’s power network on Monday, saying the U.S. and ​Iran have held constructive talks and that he would ‌postpone any strikes on power plants and energy infrastructure, Reuters reported.

Trump’s statement came after Iran threatened to attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying U.S. bases ​across the Gulf region if the U.S. targets Iran’s ​power network.

The dollar plunged and ​stocks surged following Trump’s post.

The United States and Iran “have had, over ​the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” Trump wrote ​in a post on Truth Social.

“I have instructed the Department ​of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants ‌and ⁠energy infrastructure for a five-day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.”

On Saturday, Trump warned that Iranian power plants would be destroyed if Tehran failed to “fully open” ​the Strait of ​Hormuz to ⁠all shipping within 48 hours. Trump set a deadline of around 7:44 p.m. EDT (2344 GMT) on ​Monday.

Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait, which ​carries a ⁠fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, read the report.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war the U.S. and Israel ⁠launched ​on February 28, which has upended markets, ​driven up fuel costs, fuelled global inflation fears and convulsed the postwar Western ​alliance.

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Iran says coastal attack will lead to full Gulf closure and mine-laying

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An attack on Iran’s southern coast and islands will lead to ​Gulf routes being cut with the ‌laying of sea mines, the country’s Defence Council said on Monday according to state media, Reuters reported.

The ​U.S. is considering plans to occupy, opens new tab or ​blockade Iran’s Kharg Island, the country’s main ⁠oil export hub, to pressure Tehran ​to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to ​all shipping, according to Axios.

“Any attempt to attack Iran’s coasts or islands will cause all access routes ​in the Gulf (…) to be mined ​with various types of sea mines, including floating ‌mines ⁠that can be released from the coast,” the statement read.

“In this case, the entire Gulf will practically be in a situation ​similar to ​the ⁠Strait of Hormuz for a long time (…) One should not forget ​the failure of more than ​100 ⁠minesweepers in the 1980s in removing a few sea mines.”

The Defence Council recalled that ⁠non-belligerent ​states can only pass through ​the Strait of Hormuz by coordinating passage with Iran.

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Iran says Hormuz open to all but ‘enemy-linked’ ships

The threat of Iranian attacks during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has kept most ships from getting through the narrow strait, the conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, threatening a global energy shock.

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The Strait of Hormuz remains open to all shipping except vessels linked to “Iran’s enemies”, Iranian media reports published on Sunday quoted Iran’s representative to the U.N. maritime agency as saying.

Ali Mousavi’s comments came from an interview published on Friday by Chinese news agency Xinhua, before U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to target ⁠Iranian power plants if the strait was not “fully open” within 48 hours.

The threat of Iranian attacks during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has kept most ships from getting through the narrow strait, the conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, threatening a global energy shock.

Mousavi, who is also Iran’s ambassador to the ⁠UK, was also quoted as saying that Tehran would continue to cooperate with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to improve maritime safety and protect seafarers in the Gulf, adding that ships ⁠not belonging to “Iran’s enemies” could pass the strait by coordinating security and safety arrangements with Tehran.

“Diplomacy remains Iran’s priority. However, a complete ⁠cessation of aggression as well as mutual trust and confidence are more important,” Mousavi said, adding that Israeli ⁠and U.S. attacks against Iran were at the “root of the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

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