PIA Plane Held In Malaysia To Be Retrieved ‘Soon’, Parliament Informed

PIA Plane Held In Malaysia To Be Retrieved ‘Soon’, Parliament Informed
The Aviation Division assured a subcommittee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament on Thursday that a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane that had been halted in Malaysia owing to an allegation of unpaid dues would be returned shortly.

Syed Hussain Tariq, the subcommittee's convener, presided over the meeting.

The audit objections pertaining to the Aviation Division from 2005–2006 to 2017–2018 were evaluated during the huddle.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed asked about the PIA jet that was held at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

He was notified by the aviation secretary that a PIA Boeing 777 had arrived in Kuala Lumpur.

He continued by saying that one of its engines was leased and that the leasing business had already been paid off.

The aviation secretary assured the panel that the PIA lawyers were presently busy pursuing the case in a Malaysian court, so the aircraft would be retrieved.

"When will the PIA jet be sent back?" the convener asked. Upon which, Senator Mushahid responded that next week he would travel to Kuala Lumpur.

The aviation secretary gave him the assurance that the plane would be recovered by that time.

He stated that the Malaysian court had been given every piece of paperwork demonstrating the payment's receipt.

The leasing firm for the aircraft filed a lawsuit and said that the PIA owed it $4.5 million.

The PIA, which claimed to possess the aircraft, refuted this assertion.

The leasing business only possessed one of the engines, according to the national carrier, and it had previously paid $1.8 million for it.

A PIA representative referred to the company's assertion as "incorrect" in its request for the impounding order.

He continued by saying that the national airline has sent a legal team to Kuala Lumpur to argue the case in court.

The representative said that the disputed plane's passengers had been accommodated on a different aircraft.

He proceeded by saying that the disputed Boeing 777 would likewise depart from Kuala Lumpur on a regular commercial trip.

Another PIA Boeing 777 was delayed in Malaysia for almost two weeks in January 2021 owing to a dispute involving $14 million in unpaid taxes.