Pakistani Singer Ibrar ul Haq Again Live in Dubai on 24 October 2013 —
at Wonderland Theme & Theme Park, Dubai.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Salman plays a social crusader in Jai Ho
It's final now. Salman Khan's new film which opens on January 24 would be titled Jai Ho.
Confirming this, the film's director Sohail Khan says, "Yes, the film is entitled Jai Ho. Mental was only a working title. We always knew we'd change it. Jai Ho was a title that my father liked. Now by the grace of God, we're all set to release it on Jan 24."
A source close to the film says the title was seen to be apt for the occasion. "Mental was suggested by Salman. And everyone kinda liked it. But when the release date was fixed on Jan 24, Salim Saab felt the title needed to be more pertinent. Everyone suggested something patriotic to go with the Republic Day release. The film conveys a message about eradicating corruption and Salman plays a social crusader. Jai Ho would pitch Salman as a hero of the masses in a socially relevant theme."
Confirming this, the film's director Sohail Khan says, "Yes, the film is entitled Jai Ho. Mental was only a working title. We always knew we'd change it. Jai Ho was a title that my father liked. Now by the grace of God, we're all set to release it on Jan 24."
A source close to the film says the title was seen to be apt for the occasion. "Mental was suggested by Salman. And everyone kinda liked it. But when the release date was fixed on Jan 24, Salim Saab felt the title needed to be more pertinent. Everyone suggested something patriotic to go with the Republic Day release. The film conveys a message about eradicating corruption and Salman plays a social crusader. Jai Ho would pitch Salman as a hero of the masses in a socially relevant theme."
Monday, October 14, 2013
Metallica Through the Never
Trip, a young roadie for Metallica, is sent on an urgent mission during the band's show. But what seems like a simple assignment turns into a surreal adventure.
Director:Nimród Antal
Writers:Nimród Antal, Kirk Hammett, 3 more credits »
Stars:Dane DeHaan, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Fast & Furious 7 (2014)
After Dominic Toretto and his crew helped take down Owen Shaw, his brother Ian Shaw now wants revenge.
Director: James Wan
Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson (characters)
Stars: Jason Statham,Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson
Director: James Wan
Writers: Chris Morgan, Gary Scott Thompson (characters)
Stars: Jason Statham,Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson
Saturday, October 12, 2013
WAAR Movie Review – Its Not What You Might Have Percieved-Overall rating: 4/5
Our Rating:
Story: 3/5
Direction: 4/5
Acting: 4/5
Visual Effects: 5/5
Overall rating: 4/5
WAAR Movie Review – Its Not What You Might Have Percieved
The movie which has been scheduled to release since 2011, finally premiered at Atrium Cinema here in Karachi. The premiere show of WAAR, the directorial debut of Bilal Lashari was attended by the cast and other celebrities of Pakistan media industry. For general public, Waar will hit the cinemas all across the country on the first day of Eid ul Azha, i.e 15th October, 2013.
[ SEE Also: WAAR Movie Premiere Photos ]
WAAR is an action thriller loaded with amazing visual effects. The star cast of the movie includes Shaan on lead role, Ayesha Khan, Ali Azmat, Meesha Shafi, Shamoon Abbasi, Hamza Ali Abbasi, and few other actors.
Movie Plot
The movie is completely different from the perceptions which people build from the trailers. It is NOT about Pakistan Army, Talibans and War on Terror. The story revolves around a special agent Major Mujtaba (Shaan) and a counter terrorism department that detected threats to the country’s security. The department then makes efforts to avert possible attacks by terrorists. Mujtaba, who has a good record in conducting different operations for his country, offered the charge of this operation to deal with the threats.
Now when the “major terrorist attack” is planted through an Indian Agent Rammal (Shamoon Abbasi), Mujtaba took the charge to save his motherland. Javeria (Aisha Khan) and Ehtisham(Hamza Ali Abbasi) are the siblings who help Major Mujtaba in this operation. Javeria works at FIA, while her brother Ehtisham leads the field operation on ground.
Ali Azmat is playing the role of an honest politician who really wants to do something for his nation. Though he is a married and a righteous man, but he also keeps an intimate relationship with a girl named Zoya (Meesha Shafi). Zoya who works for an NGO, is actually an Indian agent. The main villain role is played by Shamoon Abbasi.
Technical Aspects and Visual Effects
Now, come to the technical aspects. The debutant Bilal Lashari has outdone himself as a director of a motion picture film. Lashari, started his career as a music video director and worked for some of the most remarkable and finest music videos. He has always set high goals to achieve for himself. For this movie, he deserves all the applauses for taking this great initiative; he has definitely become a proud asset of our entertainment industry and indeed for the country.
Thought the story line is not much strong but by using the modern visual effects technology, the movie has set some new standards in the industry. At times the pace of the movie slows down, and you feel boredom. Probably, the deletion of some extra scenes could have avoided this feeling.
Acting
Coming to the acting, Shaan has won the show along with Hamza Ali Abbasi, who impressed the audience with his amazing character. Ayesha Khan who played the role of an agent, can be seen doing some action sequences in the movie. In negative roles, Shamoon Abbasi and Meesha Shafi are worth watching. While frequently swearing words by Meesha Shafi entertain a large number of audience, few of the viewers get irritated by them.
Soundtrack of WAAR Movie
Talking about the soundtracks, Qayaas music with Umair Jaswal on vocals dominates the whole movie. There is another good track such as “Mauje Naina” taken from Coke Studio @ MTV.
Verdict for WAAR
No matter whether you agree with the story line narrated in movie or not, WAAR is one brilliant effort by the young film maker, Bilal Lashari and his supporters. It is truly a new face of Pakistani cinema and in our opinion this could be Pakistan’s official entry for Oscars. (Fingers Crossed for the next year nominations)
As the characters in the movie mostly talk in English, it might not be able to get great response among the masses in Pakistan and recover its cost which is exaggerated to 2 Million USD by the promoters.
The film is distributed by MindWorks Media in association with ARY Films and Mandviwalla Entertainment.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Bhai's Another Car-Nama: Blasted car brand
Tuesday night turned nightmarish for Dabangg of Bollywood when his Range Rover ditched him mid-way and Salman has to board a rick to reach back his home.
This whole episode miffed Salman so much that he blasted the vehicle brand on twitter. Salman wrote `Meri bichari Range Rover ke hal kharab hai in last 1&1/2 yrs 9times brakepads hv failed 1bari pura suspension gaya or kal gadi he baith gayi (sic),`
Even while exhibiting his unhappiness about the customer support of the company Salman tweeted, `The company guys say it's a heavy car so the break pads vil wear off hehehe toh bus truck aur train n planes ka rose badalte hongay kya...so kinda pissed with the attitude ... they hv no concept of customer service.`
In his another tweet Salman tweeted about his rick-jaunt to his home and stated,"Kal raat ko jab gadi band padi had to take a rick home, really enjoyed the rickshaw ride : )...Been going on since a long time toh wanted to tweet this. Bus, aur batao kya haal hai?
This whole episode miffed Salman so much that he blasted the vehicle brand on twitter. Salman wrote `Meri bichari Range Rover ke hal kharab hai in last 1&1/2 yrs 9times brakepads hv failed 1bari pura suspension gaya or kal gadi he baith gayi (sic),`
Even while exhibiting his unhappiness about the customer support of the company Salman tweeted, `The company guys say it's a heavy car so the break pads vil wear off hehehe toh bus truck aur train n planes ka rose badalte hongay kya...so kinda pissed with the attitude ... they hv no concept of customer service.`
In his another tweet Salman tweeted about his rick-jaunt to his home and stated,"Kal raat ko jab gadi band padi had to take a rick home, really enjoyed the rickshaw ride : )...Been going on since a long time toh wanted to tweet this. Bus, aur batao kya haal hai?
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Escape Plan- Review
Starring:
Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Genre:
Genre:
ACTION
Running Time:115 min
Language:English
Info:
Running Time:115 min
Language:English
Info:
When a structural-security authority finds himself incarcerated in a prison he designed, he has to put his skills to escape and find out who framed him.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Launch of Suzuki Access 125 Special BH Edition
Salman Launches the Being Human Special Edition Access Scooter for Suzuki Motorcycles — Suzuki-Being Human Tie up & “Apna Way of Life-Being Human” Access
Heroes of Pakistan – 2013 Short Film Competition
Heroes of Pakistan – 2013 Short Film Competition
“New generation, against the traditions, is working effectively on fresh ideas and their work must be brought to view,” this was stated by Abbas Hashmi in an interview, who earlier announced a short film competition “Heroes of Pakistan” during the last week of August.
“Heroes of Pakistan” is initiated by SoundView, a prominent broadcasting company in America that distributes Pakistani and international channels there, and Green Card Capital, an investment company, Abbas Hashmi is the Chief Operating Officer of. This is the first ever edition of the competition. It has invited entries of short films of 1-5 minute duration. Competition is opened since 1st September, 2013 and the submission deadline is 31st October. Film makers of 18 and above age from all over Pakistan can participate in it by getting information from www.greencardcapital.com. They have also given a Film Contest Promo Video for having an idea what kind of films can be made for the competition along with rules and regulations. The competition theme is “No Pain, No Gain”.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes are 1000 $, 500 %, and 250 $ respectively along with opportunity of production, and internship in the leading international channels run by SoundView in America.
“We usually find a hero in sports or showbiz but anyone around can be a hero if he/she has inspired us in one way or the other”, said Abbas Hashmi, talking to the press conference. Hero is a man/woman who has a deep effect on our life or personality, and can be an ordinary one and we want to attain the same height of character and/or fame, he/she has. Showbiz and sports celebrities are used to be the hero of millions but a friend, family member, acquaintance, mentor etc. is very rare to be someone’s hero. Heroes of Pakistan is actually homage to such unsung and anonymous great personalities.
Film and idea must be original with a solid lesson; in English, Urdu, or any other language (English subtitles will be a plus point); shot on High Definition video format; and suitable for family audience.
Heroes of Pakistan is an innovative idea never given before, providing a podium to youngsters who want to do something. Moreover, the top three lucky winners’ films will be on aired on international TV channels. This is a great motivation for film makers to not only participate in the competition but also work more and more creatively and brilliantly.
Film production, whether a tele – film or feature length, is a game of millions and involves of crew of hundreds which is quite impossible without a huge investment or funding by corporate sector. In these circumstances, short film competition like Heroes of Pakistan is a superb occasion for our aspiring film makers, giving them a chance to showcase their work and fulfilling the desire of film making as well with a small team and low investment.
Let’s see what kind of heroes our film makers bring into view in their own way and who are going to win the competition to become the real hero!
“New generation, against the traditions, is working effectively on fresh ideas and their work must be brought to view,” this was stated by Abbas Hashmi in an interview, who earlier announced a short film competition “Heroes of Pakistan” during the last week of August.
“Heroes of Pakistan” is initiated by SoundView, a prominent broadcasting company in America that distributes Pakistani and international channels there, and Green Card Capital, an investment company, Abbas Hashmi is the Chief Operating Officer of. This is the first ever edition of the competition. It has invited entries of short films of 1-5 minute duration. Competition is opened since 1st September, 2013 and the submission deadline is 31st October. Film makers of 18 and above age from all over Pakistan can participate in it by getting information from www.greencardcapital.com. They have also given a Film Contest Promo Video for having an idea what kind of films can be made for the competition along with rules and regulations. The competition theme is “No Pain, No Gain”.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes are 1000 $, 500 %, and 250 $ respectively along with opportunity of production, and internship in the leading international channels run by SoundView in America.
“We usually find a hero in sports or showbiz but anyone around can be a hero if he/she has inspired us in one way or the other”, said Abbas Hashmi, talking to the press conference. Hero is a man/woman who has a deep effect on our life or personality, and can be an ordinary one and we want to attain the same height of character and/or fame, he/she has. Showbiz and sports celebrities are used to be the hero of millions but a friend, family member, acquaintance, mentor etc. is very rare to be someone’s hero. Heroes of Pakistan is actually homage to such unsung and anonymous great personalities.
Film and idea must be original with a solid lesson; in English, Urdu, or any other language (English subtitles will be a plus point); shot on High Definition video format; and suitable for family audience.
Heroes of Pakistan is an innovative idea never given before, providing a podium to youngsters who want to do something. Moreover, the top three lucky winners’ films will be on aired on international TV channels. This is a great motivation for film makers to not only participate in the competition but also work more and more creatively and brilliantly.
Film production, whether a tele – film or feature length, is a game of millions and involves of crew of hundreds which is quite impossible without a huge investment or funding by corporate sector. In these circumstances, short film competition like Heroes of Pakistan is a superb occasion for our aspiring film makers, giving them a chance to showcase their work and fulfilling the desire of film making as well with a small team and low investment.
Let’s see what kind of heroes our film makers bring into view in their own way and who are going to win the competition to become the real hero!
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
PIA - Privatisation.
Looking for past glory
PIA chalks out plans to cut mounting losses as government moves forward to privatise the national flag carrier, writes Muzaffar Rizvi
Pakistan International Airlines, or PIA, is striving to get back in black as the new government has made its plan public to privatise the state-run carrier in a last ditch effort to restore its past glory. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the airline’s management to cut down its losses in the short term in order to make it a viable entity for privatisation.
It is an open secret that the airline has been put on the privatisation agenda under the recently concluded deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The sell-off of 26 per cent stakes in the national flag carrier to strategic investors by June 2014 is part of the Pakistan-IMF agreement for $6.4 billion loan that will ultimately help the government to save Rs36 billion annually of the national exchequer.
The PML (N) government is more than serious to revive the privatisation plan to dispose of around 35 public corporations during the next three years. The privatisation process has been initiated with PIA and the details for other state-run ‘unprofitable entities’ including Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan Railways will be made available in due course of time. These ‘unprofitable entities’ are inflicting losses of up to Rs500 billion annually on the national exchequer.
Aviation circles and analysts say the government has strong and valid reasons to privatise the airline due to its inconsistent performance and mounting losses. According to PIA’s own report, the airline has suffered losses amounting to Rs119.84 billion over the past 10 years. Flight delays and cancellations have become a norm as only 26 planes out of PIA’s total fleet of 32 are airworthy and the employees-to-aircraft ratio stands at 600 plus compared to the global average of 120.
There are no second opinions about the government’s decision to revive the national airline to provide better service to travellers and improve its image nationally and internationally. It may be a good idea to involve the private sector to turnaround the struggling national flag carrier, but the aviation circles say it would be an uphill task to find a ‘strategic investor’ who can bet on PIA’s revival with present unimpressive numbers in terms of its shrinking fleet, decreasing network, dwindling revenues and high operational cost.
Also, there is a stiff opposition from the airline’s 16,600 regular and 2,700 contractual employees to privatise the airline while the management has also become very active to save the national pride through a comprehensive plan that was submitted to authorities concerned for approval last week.
Positive on break even
PIA managing director Junaid Yunus, at a news conference last week, expressed optimism that the national flag carrier would attain break even in a year’s time. He said the management would work in coordination with the airline’s employees to stem the losses, start new flights in the 2013 winter schedule, cut fuel bills and introduce certain cost-cutting measures to push the airline back in black.
Yunus also made it clear that the airline could become self-sustainable in a year if it has a fleet size of 38 to 40 aircraft, He said the airline would purchase 10 narrow-body aircraft next year, which would further improve its fleet and revenue generation.
Analysts have termed the management’s steps as welcome news but said a lot of other drastic measures need to be adopted at the earliest to turn around the airline’s fortunes. They said the airline has a lot of potential to survive on its own, but there is need to bring the employees-to-aircraft ratio close to global average of 120 and for this purpose the management has to take tough decisions in the short run to make the airline efficient.
As currently there is no retrenchment plan, the employees-to-aircraft ratio is expected to be reduced only after the retirement of approximately 4,000 staff members in the next couple of years [with no new induction] that will have little impact on the airline’s balance sheet.
Apart from this, the airline’s fuel cost bill amounts to more than 50 per cent of its revenue generation, and it may be reduced with the induction of latest fuel-efficient aircraft. There is also need to renegotiate the airline’s debt payment as it has been paying Rs1 billion interest rate per month on the loans and installments of Exim Bank of US.
“PIA’s biggest challenge is perhaps not so much getting investors or other airlines to invest — the real challenge is convincing these parties that the airline has the mettle to allow a wide-ranging restructuring of its operations that inevitably means culling jobs, waste and driving greater efficiencies into its business,” Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research firm, told Khaleej Times.
“It is not clear at all that PIA has or is willing to signal such a drastic change to whet investor appetite.”
Ahmad said aside from a huge capital investment requirement needed for new airplanes, PIA simply has too many people working for it. “Like Air India, it is a de facto state jobs programme but as costs balloon, one has to wonder just how long the Pakistani government can carry the financial weight of the airline.”
He said PIA has to address its excess staff policy, curtail waste and improve efficiencies before it can ever hope to break even, let alone make a profit. “Until such time, the airline recognises that it is more than a government arm providing jobs. Like Air India, the carrier has little commercial value and will have even less commercial success — it is sad to say, but both PIA and Air India resemble two sides of a coin that no one wants to touch — and rightfully so!”
Potential customers
Ahmad said one could argue that Emirates may be a candidate, especially since it was PIA that actually assisted in getting Emirates started back in the early 1980s, but Emirates has not followed other Arab airlines in buying stakes. Therefore, it could well be that the likes of Etihad, which has its fingers in many airline pies, will be a lead candidate to buy into PIA, just as it has done in India with Jet Airways.
“Qatar Airways has had its fingers badly burned by the Cargolux affair, and it’s clear they will want to avoid that sort of mess that PIA brings — they are happy to focus their integration in the Oneworld alliance with better quality airlines rather than saddle themselves with the bureaucratic and political corruption that PIA seems to wallow in,” Ahmad said.
Another aviation analyst, who declined to be named, considers Turkish and Malaysian airlines as other potential contenders for 26 per cent PIA stake with management control. “It is too early to expect an interest from potential international airlines in PIA. Nothing is going to happen anytime soon,” he said.
Aviation sources also hinted another option by saying that the government might consider an employee buyout as they already hold about 12 per cent stakes in the airline, however, this would be the least likely choice the government would like to exercise.
Muhammad Mashhood Tajwar, general manager public affairs at PIA, told Khaleej Times that the matter of privatisation is yet to be decided by the federal government.
About the key measures being introduced to improve financial position of the airline, he said various cost-cutting measures, both long and short term, are already under way by the present management.
“The steps include fuel savings, route rationalisation, reducing the number of executive positions at top, among others, that will help the airline get back in positive columns in days ahead,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said so far Rs7 billion have been provided by the government in bailout packages to PIA.
Tajwar was firm that the PIA management has no plan to retrench staff at the moment.
“Well there is not going to be any layoffs in PIA. However, rationalisation or right sizing exercises keeping in view the State Labour Laws of Compensations, are being carried out at foreign stations but no employee has been laid off so far,” Tajwar concluded.
Pakistan International Airlines, or PIA, is striving to get back in black as the new government has made its plan public to privatise the state-run carrier in a last ditch effort to restore its past glory. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed the airline’s management to cut down its losses in the short term in order to make it a viable entity for privatisation.
It is an open secret that the airline has been put on the privatisation agenda under the recently concluded deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The sell-off of 26 per cent stakes in the national flag carrier to strategic investors by June 2014 is part of the Pakistan-IMF agreement for $6.4 billion loan that will ultimately help the government to save Rs36 billion annually of the national exchequer.
The PML (N) government is more than serious to revive the privatisation plan to dispose of around 35 public corporations during the next three years. The privatisation process has been initiated with PIA and the details for other state-run ‘unprofitable entities’ including Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan Railways will be made available in due course of time. These ‘unprofitable entities’ are inflicting losses of up to Rs500 billion annually on the national exchequer.
Aviation circles and analysts say the government has strong and valid reasons to privatise the airline due to its inconsistent performance and mounting losses. According to PIA’s own report, the airline has suffered losses amounting to Rs119.84 billion over the past 10 years. Flight delays and cancellations have become a norm as only 26 planes out of PIA’s total fleet of 32 are airworthy and the employees-to-aircraft ratio stands at 600 plus compared to the global average of 120.
There are no second opinions about the government’s decision to revive the national airline to provide better service to travellers and improve its image nationally and internationally. It may be a good idea to involve the private sector to turnaround the struggling national flag carrier, but the aviation circles say it would be an uphill task to find a ‘strategic investor’ who can bet on PIA’s revival with present unimpressive numbers in terms of its shrinking fleet, decreasing network, dwindling revenues and high operational cost.
Also, there is a stiff opposition from the airline’s 16,600 regular and 2,700 contractual employees to privatise the airline while the management has also become very active to save the national pride through a comprehensive plan that was submitted to authorities concerned for approval last week.
Positive on break even
PIA managing director Junaid Yunus, at a news conference last week, expressed optimism that the national flag carrier would attain break even in a year’s time. He said the management would work in coordination with the airline’s employees to stem the losses, start new flights in the 2013 winter schedule, cut fuel bills and introduce certain cost-cutting measures to push the airline back in black.
Yunus also made it clear that the airline could become self-sustainable in a year if it has a fleet size of 38 to 40 aircraft, He said the airline would purchase 10 narrow-body aircraft next year, which would further improve its fleet and revenue generation.
Analysts have termed the management’s steps as welcome news but said a lot of other drastic measures need to be adopted at the earliest to turn around the airline’s fortunes. They said the airline has a lot of potential to survive on its own, but there is need to bring the employees-to-aircraft ratio close to global average of 120 and for this purpose the management has to take tough decisions in the short run to make the airline efficient.
As currently there is no retrenchment plan, the employees-to-aircraft ratio is expected to be reduced only after the retirement of approximately 4,000 staff members in the next couple of years [with no new induction] that will have little impact on the airline’s balance sheet.
Apart from this, the airline’s fuel cost bill amounts to more than 50 per cent of its revenue generation, and it may be reduced with the induction of latest fuel-efficient aircraft. There is also need to renegotiate the airline’s debt payment as it has been paying Rs1 billion interest rate per month on the loans and installments of Exim Bank of US.
“PIA’s biggest challenge is perhaps not so much getting investors or other airlines to invest — the real challenge is convincing these parties that the airline has the mettle to allow a wide-ranging restructuring of its operations that inevitably means culling jobs, waste and driving greater efficiencies into its business,” Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research firm, told Khaleej Times.
“It is not clear at all that PIA has or is willing to signal such a drastic change to whet investor appetite.”
Ahmad said aside from a huge capital investment requirement needed for new airplanes, PIA simply has too many people working for it. “Like Air India, it is a de facto state jobs programme but as costs balloon, one has to wonder just how long the Pakistani government can carry the financial weight of the airline.”
He said PIA has to address its excess staff policy, curtail waste and improve efficiencies before it can ever hope to break even, let alone make a profit. “Until such time, the airline recognises that it is more than a government arm providing jobs. Like Air India, the carrier has little commercial value and will have even less commercial success — it is sad to say, but both PIA and Air India resemble two sides of a coin that no one wants to touch — and rightfully so!”
Potential customers
Ahmad said one could argue that Emirates may be a candidate, especially since it was PIA that actually assisted in getting Emirates started back in the early 1980s, but Emirates has not followed other Arab airlines in buying stakes. Therefore, it could well be that the likes of Etihad, which has its fingers in many airline pies, will be a lead candidate to buy into PIA, just as it has done in India with Jet Airways.
“Qatar Airways has had its fingers badly burned by the Cargolux affair, and it’s clear they will want to avoid that sort of mess that PIA brings — they are happy to focus their integration in the Oneworld alliance with better quality airlines rather than saddle themselves with the bureaucratic and political corruption that PIA seems to wallow in,” Ahmad said.
Another aviation analyst, who declined to be named, considers Turkish and Malaysian airlines as other potential contenders for 26 per cent PIA stake with management control. “It is too early to expect an interest from potential international airlines in PIA. Nothing is going to happen anytime soon,” he said.
Aviation sources also hinted another option by saying that the government might consider an employee buyout as they already hold about 12 per cent stakes in the airline, however, this would be the least likely choice the government would like to exercise.
Muhammad Mashhood Tajwar, general manager public affairs at PIA, told Khaleej Times that the matter of privatisation is yet to be decided by the federal government.
About the key measures being introduced to improve financial position of the airline, he said various cost-cutting measures, both long and short term, are already under way by the present management.
“The steps include fuel savings, route rationalisation, reducing the number of executive positions at top, among others, that will help the airline get back in positive columns in days ahead,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said so far Rs7 billion have been provided by the government in bailout packages to PIA.
Tajwar was firm that the PIA management has no plan to retrench staff at the moment.
“Well there is not going to be any layoffs in PIA. However, rationalisation or right sizing exercises keeping in view the State Labour Laws of Compensations, are being carried out at foreign stations but no employee has been laid off so far,” Tajwar concluded.
Lull before the storm!
Generally, whenever a biggie is slated for release, all films preceding it tend to get sidelined. In the case of BESHARAM, since the film is getting released on a Wednesday, all new releases have only 5 [five] days to prove their worth. With Reliance going all out to give BESHARAM a wide release, releasing it in a staggering 3600 screens [the prospects of the same will be discussed next week], the only film that managed to catch some attention was WARNING, but the overall business remained low.
It's the 'lull before the storm' kind of situation right now. With BESHARAM releasing on October 2, a national holiday, the cinegoers are but naturally geared up for this wholesome entertainer. Till then, it's GRAND MASTI [at single screens mainly] and THE LUNCHBOX [at plexes of urban centres] that are luring audience to theatres.
Miss Philippines, Megan Young, wins the 2013 Miss World
Miss Philippines, Megan Young, wins the 2013 Miss World
