NAB, Hayat allowed to settle dispute over Karkey dues

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed National Accountability Bureau Prosecutor General Karim Khan Agha and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid MNA Faisal Saleh Hayat to sit together to settle the alleged outstanding amount of $243 million against Karkey Rental Power Plant, a Turkish ship-mounted power plant.
The SC also asked the parties to submit a statement in this regard on Thursday (today). A three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry agreed with Agha that the NAB PG should sit together with Hayat, the petitioner, in the Registrar’s Office to settle the dispute. During the proceedings, Agha reiterated his earlier stance that the NAB had no authority to overtake a Turkish flag carrier ship under the NAB Ordinance and the undertaking given in this regard had been withdrawn. Justice Gulzar Ahmed told him that they could not unilaterally withdraw such an undertaking. He said the court’s objective was that the amount, which belonged to the country, should be secured.
The chief justice said the court had not directed the NAB additional prosecutor general to do any such thing, rather he had voluntarily come forward and submitted an undertaking.
However, Agha contended that he believed that it was done after a directive of the bench. NAB APG Akbar Tarrar said he had already prayed to the court to consider the issue. The chief justice told him that they believed in their order and the undertaking submitted by him. The NAB PG contended that the official was not authorised to submit such an undertaking. He said the NAB stood with its calculations and drew the bench’s attention towards the figures which were already submitted with it. Hayat said no action had been taken for the implementation of the court’s March 30 decision on rental power plants even after the passage of seven months. He claimed that $243 million was outstanding against the Turkish RPP, adding that $79 million had been given as an advance payment, while $103 million had been paid as rental charges besides the $15 million as interest rate. In the Karkey case, NAB had received $17 million as the settlement amount and an advertisement was also published by the Karkey, which was never declined by the NAB, he added. NAB investigation officer Colonel (r) Shahzad Bhatti said no plea bargain had been reached with Kareky. Denying the petitioner’s allegations, Agha said the authority proceeded under the National Accountability Ordinance, which envisaged a plea bargain and voluntarily return options etc and said they had complied with the court’s directions. He also apprised the bench that a notice had also been served on Karkey under the court’s directives but nobody had appeared. Later, the court adjourned proceedings until today (Thursday).