Unpaid taxes: FBR freezes PIA’s bank accounts

RAWALPINDI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has frozen Pakistan Inter­national Airlines (PIA)’s bank accounts over non-payment of taxes.

According to sources, PIA owed about Rs2.8 billion to the FBR in taxes. However, the airline claims its dues amount to around Rs1.3 billion.

As per a PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez, the accounts would be unblocked soon. He urged that flight operations and other activities of PIA were continuing as usual despite the blocking of its accounts.

Earlier this year, PIA denied reports that its flight operations would be affected due to non-payment of salaries to its staff.  Earlier, some media outlets had reported that the national flag carrier’s operations would be affected as its pilots were considering boycotting flights “in protest” against the non-payment of their pending salaries. The officers of PIA from pay scale 5 to 10 including pilots had, reportedly, not received their salaries yet because of funds shortage.