Balochistan Assembly Raises Alarm Over Disparity in Quetta Airfares
Provincial lawmakers call soaring airfare a ‘clear discrimination’ as Quetta flights become costliest in the country
Balochistan, Nov 20: Lawmakers in the Balochistan Assembly expressed strong outrage over what they described as unprecedented and discriminatory spikes in airfares charged by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and private carriers on routes from Quetta.
Both treasury and opposition benches unanimously passed a resolution calling for immediate corrective action against the national carrier and private airlines for imposing extraordinary fare hikes, Dawn reported.
The resolution moved by JUI-F legislator Shahida Rauf during a session presided over by Speaker Abdul Khaliq Achakzai condemned the sudden surge in ticket prices. Rauf revealed that one way fares from Quetta to Karachi had climbed to between PKR 43,000 and PKR 60,000, while tickets to Islamabad had crossed PKR 70,000.
She underscored the stark disparity, noting that flights from Karachi to Lahore or Islamabad continued to cost between PKR 15,000 and PKR 20,000. Calling the price gap “clear discrimination,” she said the people of Balochistan were being unfairly burdened especially as road travel and rail services remain unreliable.
Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti backed the resolution, stressing that while lawmakers might afford such fares, ordinary citizens could not. He informed the House that he had already raised the issue with the prime minister and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and invited parliamentary leaders to join him in Islamabad to press for federal action.
Bugti warned that if airlines failed to revise fares, the provincial government could consider detaining airline officials operating in Quetta under Section 16 of the MPO.
Multiple legislators including Deputy Speaker Ghazala Gola, Education Minister Raheela Hameed Durrani, and BNP-Awami President Mir Asadullah Baloch demanded that private airlines be compelled to resume operations from Quetta and ensure nationwide fare standardisation.
ANP’s Zamarak Khan Achakzai said discriminatory treatment toward Balochistan had persisted for decades and called for legal measures if airlines did not comply. Adviser Meena Majeed Baloch told the House she had paid PKR 80,000 for an Islamabad Quetta ticket, calling the situation intolerable.
