Business Recorder
KARACHI: Chairman of the Arif Habib Consortium, the entity owning Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Arif Habib has said that the national flag carrier currently has 30 aircraft, of which 18 are operational, while five to six aircraft require repair and maintenance. Speaking at a meeting of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), he said the airline was in the process of recovering these aircraft and adding them back to the fleet, which would take the total number to 26. He added that the long-term target was to expand the fleet to 60 aircraft. Arif Habib said it was an honour to represent the business community at the government level and that he made every effort to apprise the government of the issues facing Industry. READ MORE: New PIA owners eye technical partner, fleet expansion after Rs135bn deal He said Pakistan had become economically more stable, and that this fiscal year’s figures showed the government had increased revenue, met all expenditures and also paid interest on debt. However, he stressed that economic growth required a reduction in production costs. He said electricity tariffs remained high because of capacity charges and low consumption. If the available transmission system, which is more than 22,000 MW, were fully utilized, the per-unit cost could be reduced by Rs10 to Rs12. He said this could only happen if electricity consumption increased. Arif Habib urged the business community to rise above political affiliations and speak with one united voice to present its concerns to the government. He said that if they remained united, the government would pay attention to their demands. He added that IT, agriculture and mining were sectors that could quickly help Pakistan overcome its problems and move towards growth. ABAD Chairman Hasan Bakhshi said the business community should unite and form a consortium to buy and run loss-making government institutions such as the Water Board, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the Sindh Building Control Authority, which he said were performing poorly. He said the business community was among the key stakeholders and had the ability to run institutions profitably and more efficiently. KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Asim Munir and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had raised Pakistan’s stature at the global level. In the past, decisions were made in Washington, but through their hard work the world could now see that decisions were being made in Islamabad, and Pakistan had emerged as an important stakeholder in global politics, which was hard for its adversaries to digest. He said Arif Habib was a hero of the business community who had made a significant contribution to the country’s economy. He added that PIA had once become a burden on the country, but now Arif Habib had taken charge of it, and there was hope that the airline would regain its lost place in the world and bring pride to Pakistan again. He said the Korangi industrial zone was the backbone of the national economy and its role in promoting industrial activity was extremely important. Ikram Rajput also paid tribute to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir, saying their services for national security and stability were commendable. He further said that the display of solidarity by Pakistani citizens in Iran, carrying the national flag, was encouraging and reflected strong ties between the two countries. KATI Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya expressed concern over the state of the economy and investment climate. He said the responsibilities on Arif Habib’s shoulders were increasing and that the business community needed to play a more effective role in the current circumstances. He said both foreign and local investment in the country was almost negligible, mainly due to bureaucratic hurdles and policy inconsistency. Whenever a good policy was introduced, he said, it did not last long, which hurt investor confidence. Zubair Chhaya emphasized that the business community should itself prepare an “economic charter” and work jointly to get it approved by the assembly. He also proposed the creation of a strong think tank comprising like-minded individuals to address Karachi’s problems. KITE Limited Chairman Zahid Saeed said that despite government claims of industrial development, practical steps were almost non-existent, leaving Karachi’s industrial issues unresolved. He said the Sindh chief minister had announced in December 2025 that industrial infrastructure would be developed, but no formal budget had yet been released for the purpose. He said industrial growth was impossible without basic facilities and that immediate improvement in industrial infrastructure, transparency and effective governance were the only solutions. Zahid Saeed said a strong think tank should be formed under Arif Habib’s leadership to help address the city’s and economy’s challenges. United Business Group Chairman Khalid Tawab said Arif Habib was a hero of the private sector who had played a major role in economic development. He said that after the war with India, Pakistan’s name had risen at the global level, and that Pakistan’s role in securing a ceasefire during the recent US-Iran tension had also enhanced the country’s reputation. He said there were no immediate signs of a decline in petroleum product prices, which was affecting both the public and the business community. He demanded that Karachi Airport be rebuilt and modernized so the city could once again become a major economic hub in the region. The event was attended by KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput, Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya, Vice President Muhammad Talha Ali, CPLC Chief Zubair Habib, ABAD Chairman Hasan Bakhshi, UBG Chairman Khalid Tawab, UBG President Zubair Tufail, Rasheed Jan Muhammad, Tanners Association Chairman Danish Aman, Farhan Hanif, Chairman Kite Limited Zahid Saeed, CEO Saleem-uz-Zaman, Former President and Chairman Gulzar Feroz, Farhan-ur-Rahman, Junaid Naqi, Danish Khan, Farukh Mazhar, Masood Naqi, Rashid Siddiqui, Ehteshamuddin and others, along with senior officials. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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