Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg

Commission for coordination and assistance to Provincial Privatization
Authorities. The daily Jang, Rawalpindi of April 6 reported that assets being
auctioned by the provincial governments included 212 rest houses in NWFP
alone.
Major General (R) Hidayat Ullah Niazi, Chairman, Natioanal Highway Authority
told the March 30, 1998 privatization conference that "the government of
Pakistan, acting through NHA has fielded 11 road projects relating to Motorway
for privatization. The Lahore Ialamabad Motorway has already been advertised
for operation concessions..........there are also a number of bridges on river
Indus, Chinab and Ravi which are planned for privatization."
Khawaja Mohammad Asif told the March 98 privatization conference that
privatization is expected to yield 9-10 billion dollars, as against less than 1.5
billion dollars (RS 20 billions) in local currency and 1.2 billion US $ netted by the
privatization to-date. Former Finace Minister Dr. Mahboob ul Haq, on the other
hand has estimated that privatization could yield upto 80 to 100 billion dollars.
Others including veteran journalist Sultan Ahmad (Privatization without Illusions,
daily DAWN, April 2, 1998) however believes that Khawaja Mohammad Asif, Dr.
Mahboob ul Haq, the press and the people might be shocked to see mega
projects going at too low prices, because of their liabilities and bad debt. There
are others who are ready to bet their life savings on what Sultan is saying.
Consider for example the following facts about the major comapanies to be
privatized.
1. Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation. Pakistan Telecom has been on
the priority list of privatization since 91 when a committee headed by Deputy
Chairman, Plnning Comission was setup to recomend methods of it's
privatization. Since 91 four Financial Advisors have been appointed by
Privatization Comission to help in it's privatization, starting with Bear Stern in
1991, followed by jardine Fleming in 1993, Morgan Grenfill in 1995 and Goldman
Sach in 98 who is to be paid 20 million dollars.
" I am willing to put my life savings on the line to say that the new financial
adviser will also come out and tell us in a few months that PTC can not be
prvatized" , writer of an article , The exercise in futility, the PTCL privatization, in
daily The News of 13 April 98 predicted. The writer had many reasons for his
assertions like the fact that PTC has already mortaged next few years foreign
exchange earnings under 250 million securitization loan, the monopoly of the
company is to end in year 2002, under licencing agreements signed with cellular
companies and several other telecome companies in the region was also
awaiting privatization.
2. WAPDA. In 1990 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was in such a hurry to privatize
Wapda that he refused to accept a World Bank loan to finance the study of
privatization of Wapda and awarded it, out of government of Pakistan funds to
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