Key Takeaways
- Adviser to Finance Minister clarifies government is not buying aircraft for privatised PIA.
- US Exim Bank’s mandate is to support US exports, not provide sovereign guarantees.
- Government aims to reduce state’s role in commercial activity through privatisation.
Adviser to the Finance Minister, Khurram Schehzad, has clarified that the government is not financing the acquisition of new aircraft for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which was privatised through an auction in December last year.
In a statement posted on X, Schehzad refuted claims that a minister was negotiating sovereign-linked financing for the aircraft, stating, 'The government is neither buying aircraft for a privatised PIA, nor has it announced any sovereign guarantee of taxpayer-funded loan for doing so.'
The clarification came after a recent meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and John Jovanovich, Chair of the US Export-Import (Exim) Bank, during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
During the meeting, the finance minister discussed PIA’s interest in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners and sought support for a financing package covering aircraft and engines.
However, Schehzad explained that the US Exim’s mandate is to support US exports and jobs, and that its framework provides for asset-backed aircraft financing, where financing can be secured against the aircraft itself and credit assessed on the airline/lessee and/or guarantor, if any.
A sovereign guarantee is not an automatic requirement, according to Schehzad, who added that the government is 'opening doors, facilitating access to international financing, technology and suppliers, and promoting investment and commercial opportunities.'
He further stated that the discussions with US Exim were not limited to PIA but covered potential financing across aviation, refinery upgrades, and Reko Diq as part of a broader Pakistan-US economic engagement.
Schehzad emphasized that the government is 'deliberately reducing the state’s role in commercial activity, pursuing privatisation, and creating greater space for private capital. Private-sector-led growth does not mean government abandons the private sector; it means government enables it rather than running businesses itself.'
He concluded that claims of a 'public loan, hidden subsidy, state backstop' or taxpayers assuming PIA’s commercial risk should not be presented as facts when no such arrangement has been announced. The official statement refers to potential US Exim financing support; it does not announce government borrowing for PIA or a sovereign guarantee.
The government is neither buying aircraft for a privatised PIA, nor has it announced any sovereign guarantee of taxpayer-funded loan for doing so.
Khurram Schehzad, Adviser to the Finance Minister
