Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport) has firmly refuted claims by Pakistan's minister of state for finance that it is looking to acquire a stake in PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International).
The minister, Ali Pervaiz Malik, told a local news outlet on September 24 that "a Turkish airline" had shown interest in buying the up-for-sale state-owned PIA. However, airline spokesman Yahya Üstün it was not Turkish Airlines. He said there were no ongoing negotiations or initiatives to acquire PIA.
"The news published in various media outlets claiming that our Incorporation is negotiating to acquire Pakistan International Airlines does not reflect the truth," the spokesperson told ch-aviation. "Our Incorporation does not have any undertaking in this direction."
The Pakistani government is in the final stages of selling a majority stake in PIA. While several major airlines had initially looked at the carrier, none were on the government's shortlist of pre-approved potential buyers.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has shared the final draft of bid documents for PIA's privatisation with the six pre-qualified bidders, with the deadline for final bids being October 1.
