ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) this week rejected a $36 million bid from a real estate development company to acquire 60 percent stakes in the government-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), state-run media reported. 
Pakistan’s process to privatize the PIA encountered difficulties last month when its final bidding round for the national flag carrier attracted just one bid of Rs10 billion ($36 million) for a 60 percent stake in the airline. The bid was made by real estate development company Blue World City. 
The cash-strapped country is looking to offload a 51-100 percent stake in the debt-ridden PIA to raise funds and reform state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. 
A meeting of the CCOP chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday discussed Blue World City’s bid and the Privatization Commission’s (PC) suggestion to reject it. 
“The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) rejected the bid of Rs10 billion submitted by the Blue World City for the divestment of 60 percent shares of the Pakistan International Airlines, accepting the recommendations of the Privatization Commission Board,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Friday.
The CCOP reiterated the government’s resolve to divest the national flag carrier through privatization or government-to-government (G2G) mode. 
“The body noted with satisfaction the assessment of the aviation division on healthy PIACL’s finances,” APP said. 
Pakistan’s government disclosed last year that it had signed a contract with the New York City administration to resume business activities at the Roosevelt Hotel, which is owned by the PIA. 
The hotel was closed by Pakistani authorities in October 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, as the country’s economy weakened and the aviation sector faced significant losses. However, the facility accumulated liabilities of around $25 million in taxes and other overheads.
“The committee also constituted a committee under the convenorship of the minister of state for finance to evaluate possible transaction options for the privatization of Roosevelt Hotel and modes to be adopted in the light of available legal provisions,” APP said. 
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and a business group in Canada led by a Pakistani expat have both expressed their interest in acquiring the national flag carrier. 
The government had pre-qualified six groups for PIA’s privatization process in June, but only real-estate development company Blue World City participated in the bidding process last month, placing a bid that was below the government-set minimum price of Rs85 billion ($304 million). 
The disposal of PIA is a step former governments have steered away from, as it has been highly unpopular given the number of layoffs that would likely result from it.
Other concerns raised by potential bidders for the PIA stake included inconsistent government communication, unattractive terms and taxes on the sector, and the flag carrier’s legacy issues and reputation.

ISLAMABAD, PESHAWAR, KARACHI: The World Health Organization (WHO) and Pakistani officials have identified “immunity gap” as a key factor behind the resurgence of polio in the country, as Pakistan on Friday reported its 49th case this year from the southwestern Balochistan province.
Polio is a highly contagious disease that can cause irreversible paralysis, particularly in young children, and remains incurable, posing a persistent threat as long as the virus is not eradicated.
Most cases in Pakistan have emerged from the conflict-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. Along with neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistan remains one of the last two countries in the world where polio is endemic. After significant progress in reducing cases, Pakistan has seen a resurgence since late 2018, underscoring the fragility of earlier gains.
Health officials explain that an “immunity gap” occurs when a large segment of the population lacks sufficient resistance to the poliovirus, leaving communities vulnerable to infection and outbreaks despite immunization efforts.
“The ongoing transmission and resurgence of the poliovirus was largely attributed to a widespread immunity gap that has developed over time,” WHO spokesperson Maryam Younas told Arab News.
She attributed this “to a compromised campaign quality because of security-related challenges, community resistance, boycotts and demands of local communities, suboptimal routine immunization coverage and internal displacement of mobile and migrant populations.”
Younas added high-quality vaccination campaigns were needed to bridge the immunity gap, highlighting that the WHO had organized back-to-back large-scale campaigns in September and October that vaccinated around 45 million children.
“These will follow another campaign in December to effectively plug the immunity gap,” she said. “The mobile and migrant populations were redefined and mapped with revitalized focus on their vaccination.”
Health officials from the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces also echoed the same concerns, saying that immunity gaps played a major role in the resurgence of poliovirus.
KP’s Special Health Secretary Abdul Basit said the provincial government was undertaking efforts to “plug remaining immunity gaps” from the region by ensuring timely immunization of children.
A tribal elder from South Waziristan, Malik Anwar Wazir, told Arab News the increasing number of polio cases raised question about the government’s polio eradication efforts. He termed the decades of infighting and unrest in parts of KP and tribal areas responsible for “inconsistent health care initiatives.”
“Mass exodus or displacement of families because of militancy hinder vaccination drives,” he added. “Most of the families in the tribal belt and parts of KP move for safer areas due to constant war, which creates problems for full immunization dose.”
Dr. Aftab Kakar, a health official in Balochistan, said international donors funding Pakistan’s polio eradication program had expressed concerns and given the authorities in the province new targets to prevent poliovirus transmission by June 2025.
“After being declared a polio-free province for almost years, we received the first transmission of poliovirus from Kandahar [Afghanistan] in September 2023,” he said. “If our children were immunized and well nourished, the virus would not have survived and spread all over the province.”
This year, 24 polio cases have been reported in Balochistan, 13 in Sindh, 10 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one each in Punjab and the federal capital, Islamabad. In the early 1990s, Pakistan recorded approximately 20,000 cases annually, but the number dropped to eight in 2018, six in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio eradication program, launched in 1994, has significantly reduced the number of cases over the years. However, the country continues to face major challenges, including militancy, with polio workers frequently targeted in attacks, particularly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The program has adapted to address climate disasters, such as floods, but continues to experience disruptions. Additionally, there are gaps in supplementary immunization activities, particularly in areas where the virus remains active.