Severely concerned about the declining status of Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM), the legislative body of the Senate has recommended running the affairs of PSM through public-private partnership to make it profitable.The meeting that was held on Thursday under the chair of Senator Zafarul Haq, showed concerns regarding the continuous decline in the performance of PSM and said that people are using the Mill’s resources for their own vested interests. Senator Fateh Muhammad Hasni said that Balochistan has rich resources of iron that can fulfil the requirement of our industry but unfortunately they have not been utilised and raw material is imported from abroad. This not only increase extra burden on the national kitty, but also causes an increase in prices of products.He said after utilising raw material from within the country, the government can save billions of rupees and support the PSM. He said the government is not facilitating the mining sector of iron as FBR collects twice the amount of tax from this sector.Senator Haji Ghulam Ali said PSM is causing billions of rupees of losses to the national kitty and its debt is increasing therefore the government should focus on small industries. He proposed to bring out the PSM under the umbrella of the government, adding that privatisation is the only solution of the present status.Senator Ilyas Bilour said the steel business is flourishing in the country while PSM is declining with each passing day. He also was of the view that fair privatisation was the only solution.Senator Mushahidullah Khan said the government is not serious to run institutes efficiently.During the meeting, Pakistan Steel Mill Chief Executive Officer Shamshad Qureshi briefed the legislative body about functions and issues of the company. He said imbalance in the financial affairs existed from last fifteen to twenty years.He said in 2008-9 PSM received losses of Rs 25 billion and no relief was given after repeated requests. He said the government paid Rs 36 billion in the last four years and this amount was paid in installments therefore desired results were not achieved. The CEO further said PSM has signed an MoU with the Russian government and it is hoped that after a $500 million investment, the situation would improve.
