Cash-strapped Pakistan is likely to privatize its national flag carrier by the first week of August, a media report said on Wednesday.

The much-anticipated privatization of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has been on top of the agenda of the government after the groundwork was completed by the caretaker government that was in place to organize elections.

Citing sources close to the development, private television channel ARY News reported that six companies have been shortlisted for the privatization of the national flag carrier.

The shortlisted companies have sought details related to PIA and asked for time till July to review the financial issues of the national airline.

Meanwhile, the authorities are providing the required information to the consortium of shortlisted companies.

It is pertinent to mention here that a consortium of six companies has been pre-qualified for privatizing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

According to the details, the companies that lie in the pre-qualified consortium will now be eligible to participate in the bidding process for the PIA.

The decision was made during the Privatisation Commission Board meeting this week which was chaired by Privatization Minister Aleem Khan, who emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring a transparent and efficient privatisation process for all loss-making state-owned companies.

To maintain transparency and foster confidence, Khan proposed broadcasting the privatisation proceedings live on media platforms to assure all stakeholders about the integrity of the process.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)