ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was moved against the privatisation of important airports of the country, and a request was made to issue a stay order against the orders of the Privatisation Commission in this regard.
A citizen, Shahid Orakzai, submitted an application in the Islamabad High Court against the privatisation of airports in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
The plaintiff in his application said that the constitution does not allow handing over of sensitive installations to private companies. He said that the airports were already on the target of terrorists. He said that the Privatisation Commission, instead of holding a transparent auction, was giving away contracts worth billions of rupees to mysterious contractors, which may jeopardise the security of the country. “In the case of giving contracts of airports, the approval of the cabinet was not sought. Moreover, with the privatisation of the airports, thousands of workers would also become jobless.” He pleaded that experts had also shown resentment over the privatisation of three major airports of the country, and added that after the privatisation the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would have the control of only small airports, which were already operating at a loss. He said that the step would make the CAA bankrupt.
