Setback for Nawaz Govt. as Pak Senate rejects PIAC Bill

The Nawaz Sharif-led government suffered a major setback in the Senate today when the House rejected a bill to convert the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Corporation into a public limited company.

The PIA Corporation Conversion Bill 2015 was introduced by Federal Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid, reports Dawn.

Deputy Chairman of the Senate, Abdul Gafoor Haideri, sought verbal consent to take the bill into consideration twice, which was rejected by majority voice both times.

The senate standing committee rejected the bill in its report presented to the house.

The bill has now been referred to a joint session of the Parliament, which is expected to take place next week.

The bill is expected to be passed as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) enjoys a simple majority in a joint session.

Earlier, the National Assembly passed the PIAC Bill amid protests by the Opposition. The bill was then sent to the upper house, which referred it to the standing committee.

The PIA employees went on a protest last month after the government refused to accept a four-point agenda proposed by the Joint Action Committee and put off privatisation.