Citing the Rs 400 billion Pakistan Railways’, Pakistan International Airline’s and Pakistan Steel Mills’ burden on the national exchequer as an example, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Nadeem-ul-Haq on Wednesday sought the parliament’s help in restructuring unprofitable public sector enterprises. He was briefing the monitoring and implementation committee of the Public Accounts Committee, which met here with Yasmeen Rehman in the chair.
The committee sought report over restructuring of those corporations who were in running in loss. Chairman Standing Committee on Railway and member PAC Monitoring and Implementation Committee Sardar Ayaz Sadiq informed the committee that Pakistan Railways will be destroyed if Rs 11 billion were not provided immediately. “We have decided to meet Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in this regard,” he said. The committee reviewed different matters of NHA and Ministry of Industries and Production. During the committee meeting, Chairman NHA Junaid Khan refused to lend details of development schemes worth Rs 623 billion. The committee members, demanding a disciplinary action against him, said the NHA had become hub of corruption and the attitude of chairman NHA was against the prestige of committee.
The chairman NHA bluntly asked the committee to take action against him. “Nothing will happen,” he said. This led to his expulsion from the meeting after committee member Haider Abbas Rizvi’s token walkout. In her remarks, the committee chairperson Yasmeen Rehman said all the bureaucrats were answerable to the parliament. “If chairman NHA thinks himself to be above the parliament then action would be taken against him,” he said. The committee also took strong notice with regard to illegal sale of shares of Pakistan Engineering Company due to which national exchequer had to face a loss worth Rs 1.5 billion. The committee ordered action against those responsible.
