Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg

Habib Bank Gujranwala - The Bank that Gave Non-
Repayable Loans
Habib Bank Gujranwala was a cow that was milked by every big industrialist
worth his name. The branch seems to have a banner sticking out of its window "
Applications for non-repayable loans received here " and dished out bad loans
amounting to Rs 2,793 millions. The beneficiaries included Karim Group (six
loans) worth Rs 339 millions, Dost Mohammad Textile Mills ( Farooq A Sheikh)
Rs 261 millions, Bela Chemicals (Basharat Elahi, brother-in-law of President Zia
ul Haq) Rs 230 millions, Fazalsons Rs 274.69 millions, an individual Abdullah
Rajai Rs 233 million, Valika Rs 103 millions, Habib group Rs 41.48 million, Arag
Industries Rs 30.9 million, Hyesons Rs 26.56 millions, Fancy Rs 22 million,
Dadabhoy Rs 16.54 millions and Bawany Rs 14.43 millions.
How industrialists living in Karachi had resorted to credit sanctioned by Habib
Bank Gujranwala speaks about the professional integrity of the senior executive
of Habib Bank. One of senior executive Yunus Habib was later arrested and is
currently languishing in jail while another senior executive Safdar Abbas Zaidi
was appointed minister by Benazir Bhutto, ostensibly, for not testifying against
Asif Zardari, in the case about the loan sanctioned to Fauzi Ali Kazim.
The Sick Mill Therapy, at Whose Cost?
" Loans turn bad only when they are given to bad parties and not
sanctioned on merit............These loans are taken out with the
intention of never paying back."
Yusuf Shirazi, Interview with The daily Dawn, 7.10.95.
" At present there is a lack of commitment for loan recovery at both
ends, at the government level and the level of the defaulters."
G M Adamjee, Interview with The daily Dawn, 23.9.95.
In 1984, General Zia ul Haq constituted a committee headed by Finance
Secretary Mr. H U Beg to recommend revival of sick industrial units. It was a onetime
exercise obviously meant to review the loans of the nationalized units dating
back to pre-nationalization and devaluation of the currency, " making provisions
to either reschedule or reduce their liabilities".
Every elected govt in last 13 years has set up committees to revive sick
industries. Since 1990, committees have existed in each nationalized commercial
bank and financial institutions for writing-off reschedule loans. No mention was
ever made by the banks, State Bank or politicians about the existance of these
committees. While hearing a case against this banking malpractice on November
98