Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg
Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg
Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg
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the new owner abides by the sale agreement, govt. is required to meet its<br />
repayment obligation with respect to the foreign loans of privatized units.<br />
It can be safely said that the debt liabilities of the privatized units are manifold the<br />
yield from privatization since, in case of Naya Daur Motors whose sale<br />
agreement was made available to the author, the liabilities are many times the<br />
bid price.<br />
Naya Daur Motors were sold to Tawakkal for Rs 39 million while the new owner<br />
had undertaken to clear the liabilities of Rs 145 million outstanding against the<br />
Asian Development Bank, Republican Motors and National Development<br />
Finance Corporation (NDFC). The amount is in default four years after<br />
privatization.<br />
Interviews and case studies have revealed that neither Benazir nor Nawaz Sharif<br />
followed a clear cut policy for post-privatization liabilities. However Finance<br />
Minister, Sartaj Aziz told several press conferences attended by the author that<br />
Benazir Bhutto had sold the units on "as is where is" basis which meant without<br />
liabilities while Nawaz govt. privatization required the new owner to take over the<br />
liabilities.<br />
In theory Nawaz policy was sound but in practice it has worked out to be the<br />
same as that of Benazir Bhutto since huge amounts of loans are outstanding<br />
against units privatized by both. According to the list of defaulters published by<br />
caretaker Prime Minister Meraj Khalid, Rs2,303 million was in default against six<br />
privatized units namely Metropolitan Steel (Rs1,128 million), National Motors (Rs<br />
464 million), Quality Steel (Rs 295 million), Naya Daur Motors (Rs 215 million),<br />
Associated Industries (Rs 103 million) and National Fibre (Rs 90 million). An<br />
amount of 1.5 billion was outstaning against Ghazi Textiles, Harapa Textile and<br />
Pasrur Sugar Mills privatized by Nawaz Sharif, as Chief Minister, Punjab in 1984-<br />
86.<br />
Big Cover Up in Corruption in Privatization<br />
Corruption in privatization under Benazir and Nawaz Sharif governments during<br />
1990-97 has made legends. Volumes can be written about corruption in their<br />
privatization simply by compling the charges that they have traded with each<br />
other. It would appear that not a single deal of privatization during the last seven<br />
years has been free from corruption. Yet the full story of corruption in<br />
privatization has not been told because the leadrs of of the two parties talked<br />
about each other's corruption when in opposition. But when in power they<br />
displayed a vested interest in covering up others corruption.<br />
In fact interviews by the author, with present and former cabinet ministers and<br />
officials of the Privatization Commission have revealed that Meraj Khalid govt. in<br />
which Shahid Javed Burki, Senior Vice-President of World Bank served as<br />
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