Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into the controversial ad for the launch of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Paris flights.

This directive was shared by Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State Senator Ishaq Dar during a Senate meeting focusing on an announcement on PIA’s privatization on Tuesday.

Senator Sherry Rehman raised concerns about the airline’s future, questioning whether the privatization plan had been canceled or was still underway. She also highlighted that out of PIA’s 34 aircraft, only 19 are operational while the rest are on the ground.

Rehman also criticized the Paris plane ad, which she claimed led to public ridicule, and questioned the agency responsible for the ad and the official who approved it.

The ad featured a PIA plane near the Eiffel Tower with the slogan “We are coming”, which she claimed misrepresented the airline’s intentions.

Ishaq Dar confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz had ordered an inquiry into the matter and emphasized the misleading nature of the campaign.

Addressing earlier problems with PIA’s image, he mentioned that a statement by former minister Sarwar Khan had led to the banning of PIA flights in Europe, the UK and the US following allegations of fake pilots.

He further stated that after this a committee was formed under the PDM government and efforts to resolve the issue with the UK Foreign Secretary were successful.

On the airline’s fleet, Dar noted that 22 of PIA’s aircraft are currently operational while 11 are under repair. He confirmed that PIA would undergo privatization with the government working to involve Pakistan’s business sector in the process.

Dar also mentioned efforts to restore PIA flights to the UK, with a team expected to arrive in late January. He expressed hope that flights to Britain would resume in March or April.

He highlighted that the statement of the former minister had caused an annual loss of Rs87 billion, adding that an inquiry into the matter had been recommended by the Cabinet. The statement, he said, had also damaged the reputation of Pakistani pilots.