Who Owns Pakistan - Yimg

Hashwani has claimed that BHP was interested in acquiring the equity in
Qadirpur Gas Field and thus, it was agreed by BHP and Castrol that BHP would
preferably find a Pakistani buyer for the PPL and therefore, it approached
Sadaruddin Hashwani and an agreement was reached. The agreement
envisaged that BHP will acquire Burmah Castrol and PPL share in Qadirpur gas
field and Hashoo will have the PPL interest in Sui and other fields. Thanks to Asif
Zardari and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Anwar Saifullah, the
deal was approved by Ministry. But a hue and cry in press adn group of
nationalist Pakistanis led by former Finance Minister Dr. Mubashar Hassan led to
an intervention by President Farooq Leghari and cancellation of the deal.
The PPI deal was cited by President Farooq Leghari as an exemple of corruption
of Benazir govt in both his dismissal order and later in the detailed document
presented to the Supreme Court.
The trilateral deal between Hashoo, BHP and Burmah can be interpreted or read
in many ways, but it can be best explained by reproducing President Leghari's
comments in the reply to Banazir Bhutto's petition filed in the Supreme Court,
against the dismissal of her govt.
" The conduct of Hashoo group, which enjoyed full support of petitioner's
(Benazir) govt, was clearly malafide. A gas field whose intrinsic value runs into
billions of dollars was being allowed to be passed on to Hashoo group and the
shadowy individuals behind the group whose identity can be easily guessed. It
(Hashoo) had opposed the deal between Burmah Castrol and Premier on the
plea that natural gas reserves should not be allowed to pass into the hands of a
foreign company, yet it sought NOC for the same deal without divulging the fact
that two companies, one of them foreign (BHP) were proposing to take over the
share"
For Asif Zardari, Anwar Saifullah, Hashwani and likes, it was an ordinary
commercial deal between a buyer and a seller and therefore, the Governement
of Pakistan ought not to have intervened in the deal. It appeared a valid
argument, but those peddling this argument would have ended up reaping
billions of dollars in windfall at the cost of the common man in Pakistan.
The following facts were unknown till Khaild Anwar, the present Law Minister
appearing on behalf of President Farooq Leghari gave details of a 15-year old
deal between Pakistan Government and Burmah Castrol.
Khalid Anwar said that intrinsic value of Sui Gas field was 6 billion dollars and
under the trilateral deal between Burmah, BHP and Hashoo, Sadaruddin
Hashwani was getting the management of PPL for 24 million dollars.
But why was the Burmah Castrol keen to divest ite equity in Pakistan Petroleum
Ltd? he asked and went on to provide the answer himself.
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