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ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority on Friday issued a Foreign Aircraft Operating Permit to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the country’s high commission in London said, clearing the final administrative hurdle for the carrier to resume flights to Britain this month.

Britain lifted restrictions on Pakistani carriers in July, nearly half a decade after grounding them following a 2020 PIA Airbus A320 crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. The disaster was followed by claims of irregularities in pilot licensing, which led to bans in both the UK and the European Union.

A PIA spokesperson had earlier announced plans to restart direct flights to Britain in October after securing international safety and security approvals, signaling a return to one of its most important markets while awaiting the UK permit.

“The Wait Is Over,” the Pakistan High Commission in London exclaimed in a post on social media.

“High Commissioner @DrMFaisal is grateful to the Civil Aviation Authority, UK @UK_CAA for issuing the Foreign Aircraft Operating Permit (FOP) today, the final document enabling commercial flights between the UK and Pakistan,” it added.

PIA has already received Third-Country Operator (TCO) approval for flight operations in Britain and will initially relaunch flights to Manchester, with Birmingham and London to follow in later phases.

The airline’s return is expected to ease travel for the Pakistani diaspora, strengthen trade links and boost revenues.

Britain is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner, with bilateral commerce worth about £4.7 billion ($5.7 billion) annually.

The Pakistan government, which has repeatedly bailed out the loss-making carrier, is pushing ahead with its privatization as part of a broader plan to reduce losses at state-owned firms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.

PIA has accumulated more than $2.5 billion in losses over roughly a decade, draining public finances.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency lifted its suspension in November 2024, allowing the airline to resume flights to Paris in January and later expand to Lahore–Paris in June.

However, PIA suspended those services in recent months to prioritize resources for the UK relaunch.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) breached the 168,000 mark on Friday, hitting a record high, with analysts attributing the gains to cement, urea and oil stocks driving the market rally.

The benchmark KSE-100 index rose by 0.3 percent, or 500.45 points, to close at 168,995.74 points as compared to the previous close of 168,489.62 points, according to the PSX data.

Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, said stocks hit an all-time high on speculation ahead of major earnings announcements expected next week.

“Reports of a surge in cement sales by 16 percent, urea sales by 18 percent and oil sales by six percent year on year for September 2025 [affected the market sentiment],” he told Arab News. “Repayments to Pakistan State Oil for power sector circular debt dues and rupee stability also played a catalytic role in record bullish activity at PSX.”

Pakistan’s cement sector posted a 16.2 percent increase in the third quarter of 2025 by touching 12.1 million tons, recording an increase of 1.7 million tons from the same period last year.

Domestic sales, according to All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, rose by 15 percent to 9.5 million tons compared to 8.3 million tons last year while cement exports grew by 21 percent to 2.5 million tons.

Urea sales in Pakistan also rose to 816,000 tons in August, up 46 percent year-on-year and 34 percent month-on-month, according to Pakistan’s National Fertilizer Development Center.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Saad Ali, Head of Research at Lucky Investments, said strong liquidity and positive news on the geopolitical and foreign policy fronts boosted market optimism.

“But I think more recently banks have stretched the rally and today there was optimism around refinery policy and refinery sector,” he added.

“Generally, the market mood is positive, every week they pick a sector and rally that, banks have done quite well, and refineries are also in the limelight.”

Pakistan’s stock market has outperformed all other asset classes this year, repeatedly breaking record highs as strong corporate earnings, robust liquidity and improving investor sentiment drive gains.