ISLAMABAD, MAY 08 (DNA) – Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Tuesday has announced to take stern action against those responsible for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) losses.

Hearing a case pertaining to PIA privatization, current aviation adviser Sardar Mehtab Abbasi appeared in the court and briefed about the financial situation of the airlines from 2008 to 2017.

CJP asked the adviser to sit in the PIA flight and notice what has happened to it. Economist Farrukh Saleem said that the airlines have faced loss of Rs28 billion in 2001, Rs36 billion in 2008, Rs44 billion in 2016 and Rs45 billion in 2017.

He revealed that expensive beyond income became the reason behind the losses.

Meanwhile, CJP asked Mehtab whether PIA faced this damage in his tenure over which he told that he had received the forensic audit report.

Earlier, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) had endorsed the privatization of two major state-run entities Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) terming it a step towards efficiency gain, which means increase in GDP.