KARACHI – The local intelligence agencies are investigating entire administrative hierarchy of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and some local and international salvaging companies for an alleged corruption in a multimillion project.
Referring to unconfirmed reports, the sources, however, claimed the probe was a part of an underlying political tussle between the traditional political rivals, PPP and MQM which, many of the analysts believe, have from the very outset been engaged in a battle of endurance. The inquiry is a part of political tactics to pressurise MQM’s federal minister for political gains, the sources alleged.
They claimed Interior Minister Abdur Rehman Malik had given a ‘go-ahead’ to the FIA to initiate an inquiry against the alleged blue-eyed boys of MQM’s ex-federal minister for ports and shipping, Babar Ghauri, on corruption charges. Former KPT Chairman Vice Admiral (retd) Ahmed Hayat and General Manager Planning and Development Division Brig (retd) Jamshed Zaidi are the two prominent figures who, the sources claimed, have been in good books of the former federal minister.
The sources said it was almost seven months back when FIA, after receiving an ‘anonymous’ letter, had started probing the award of Rs 1.32 billion contract to a Dutch firm, M/s Euro Demolition, for the removal of concrete structure from KPT’s channel at berths 10 to 14 which collapsed in August 2007.
“The same project was earlier awarded to a local salvaging company, (M/s Indus Divers) at Rs 77.5 million and the FIA is investigating the huge difference,” they said. The sources told Pakistan Today those being grilled by the FIA under corruption charges were KPT’s board of directors, the former and present chairpersons, general managers, tender committees and officials from the Dutch and Pakistani salvaging companies.
“All those who had cleared award of the contract, including, the board members, are under investigation,” they added. The FIA, after months-long investigations, had recently frozen the bank accounts of the Dutch salvaging firm, M/s Euro Demolition. “The Dubai Islamic Bank has been barred from allowing outward transactions from the accounts of Euro Demolition without written permission of the FIA officials from Corporate Crime Circle,” the sources said.
While the FIA is probing the circumstances under which KPT officials had awarded reclamation work to the Dutch salvagers at an “exorbitant” price, the Dutch government is said to have decided to use diplomatic channels to take up the issue with Islamabad.
“The Dutch Consulate is going to be involved,” the sources claimed. Furthermore, the sources said FIA had included the KPT board members in the inquiry after some officials pleaded that the award of contract was subject to the final nod of the directors.
The FIA officers were also wondering why the KPT had not awarded the project on “risk and cost” of the former contractor, M/s Indus Divers, they added. When contacted, KPT General Manager Planning and Development Division Brig (retd) Jamshed Zaidi confirmed that the investigation was going on.
The KPT official viewed that if the FIA was suspecting some corruption in the project there must be a probe into it. The retired army officer, however, refrained from commenting on the motives of the investigation. Some 16 salvaging companies had collected the tender documents when the KPT had invited bids for the removal of debris at the collapsed berths from 10 to 14.
Out of the 16, only two, M/s Euro Demolition and M/s Ssangyong, had submitted their bids but the latter was rejected on technical grounds and the former got the job.
