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Personal meetings between Sialkot businessmen and the Prime Minister to resolve licensing issues.
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Inauguration of AirSial by Imran Khan on December 9, 2020 at Sialkot Airport.
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Public framing of AirSial as a symbol of “competition” and “export-led growth.”
Prime ministers do not typically inaugurate private airlines. When they do, it signals political sponsorship, not mere neutrality.
Exhibit D: Sialkot’s strategic proximity to power
AirSial is backed by the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the same community that built Pakistan’s first private international airport. Sialkot is also:
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a major export hub (sports goods, surgical instruments),
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a celebrated model in Imran Khan’s “Naya Pakistan” narrative,
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and a politically aligned business constituency.
Contrast matters:
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Other startups (Q-Airlines, K2 Airways) did not receive repeat cabinet extensions, policy-timed relief, or PM inaugurations.
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The pattern suggests selective intensity, not universal facilitation.
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