Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that bidding for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would be held on December 23 with a live media broadcast.

The government has been seeking to sell a 51-100 per cent stake in the struggling national airline to raise funds and reform cash-draining, state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

It would be the country’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades. Four bidders have been pre-qualified for the sale: Lucky Cement Consortium, Arif Habib Corporation Consortium, Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited and Air Blue Limited.

A press release posted on X by state broadcaster PTV News said that the prime........

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