Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg
Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg
Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg
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specific tax holidays. It was not coincidence that House of Ittefaq was operating<br />
five industrial units in the Chunian Industrial Estate.<br />
According to the notification issued by the Punjab govt the estate was to be<br />
developed on 60,466 acres of land, of which 55,000 acres was private and<br />
balance was State land. In a departure from the established pattern it was<br />
decided that govt will provide infrastructure and other facilities in the industrial<br />
estate but the industrialists will be required to procure land directly from the land<br />
owners in the area. According to the various press conferences by Salman<br />
Taseer, then Information Secretary PPP and other opposition leaders at least<br />
10% of the land in Chunian Industrial Estate had been bought by the members of<br />
Sharif family prior to its declaration as an industrial estate.<br />
In September 1989, Bhutto govt rescinded SRO/1/84 with retrospctive effect from<br />
Chunian Industrial Estate meaning thereby that industries set up in the area after<br />
1984, were no longer exempted from payment of income tax and other tax<br />
concessions. CBR issued the new SRO as spinelessly and without any rigor of<br />
conscience as the one that had provided exemptions with retrospective effect.<br />
The Case of Import Duties on Steel<br />
The see-sawing of import duties on Steel by Benazir and Nawaz govts also show<br />
how unscrupulously the two employed to line personal pockets or tried to kill the<br />
bird that was laying the golden eggs for the other.<br />
The federal budget for 1986-87 annouced by Finanace Minister Dr Mahboob ul<br />
Haq reduced the flat duty on imported Steel from Rs 750 per tonn to Rs 418 per<br />
tonn, yielding net savings of Rs 200 million to Ittefaq Foundary but hardly hit ship<br />
breaking industry for which the rate of duty remained at previous level.<br />
However, July 1988-89 budget was announced by the PPP govt which imposed<br />
a uniform rate of duty on ship plates and ingots but doubled the rate of duty for<br />
billets used by Ittefaq Foundary, causing an annual loss of Rs 580 million to<br />
Ittefaq.<br />
In 1991-92 with Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister, CBR issued SRO 584/91<br />
reducing the custom duty on shredded and bundled scrap from Rs 1,500 to Rs<br />
500 but the custom duty on ship breaking was reduced from Rs 1500 per tonn to<br />
Rs 1000 only. This difference in custom duty inflicted death blow to the ship<br />
breaking industry but yeilded Rs 1,024 million to Ittefaq Foundary, according to<br />
Zahid Sarfraz, Chairman, Accountibilty Committee when Nawaz Sharif govt was<br />
dismissed in April 1993 who also claimed that the said SRO was issued without<br />
any lawful authority.<br />
In this battle of SROs, ship breaking industry fell victim to Nawaz govt policies to<br />
benefit Ittefaq Foundary and subsequently efforts was made by PPP govt to<br />
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