Iranian authorities refused to fuel the aircraft of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his visit to Tehran last month to make the State-run PIA clear its dues amounting to just over US $5,000.
“The Iranian airport authorities had refused to fuel the Pakistan PM’s aircraft at the Tehran airport on May 12 and warned it would not release the plane until the PIA cleared the outstanding payment,” a senior Pakistan International Airlines official told PTI.
The outstanding amount just over US $5,000.
“The Iran Air officials responsible for handling the VVIP flight showed their annoyance over the PIA failure in clearing the pending invoice of PK-788 despite the passage of four months,” the official said. The warning alerted the PIA bosses who directed its official in Tehran to clear the amount forthwith and save Pakistan from the embarrassment.The PIA managed to hide the issue from the foreign office and the Prime Minister.