PARCO board: Senate body expresses reservations over selection criteria
ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Tuesday expressed its serious reservations over appointment of a parliamentarian and former bureaucrat as members of the board of directors of Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO).
The Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum held its meeting on Tuesday under chairmanship of Umer Farooq which discussed in detail the tenure of managing directors and composition of boards of all oil and gas companies.
Member Committee Saadia Abbasi criticised the selection criteria of the board of PARCO which has Federal Minister Senator Ahad Khan Cheema as member and some retired bureaucrats on the board.
Senator Saadia Abbasi asked the Minister for Petroleum, 'Can a senator be appointed as a board member if yes than other parliamentarians should also be provide opportunity to become a member of the board to show their ability.'
She responded to Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik's statement that the board had been constituted under public limited company Act.
He further contended that Ahad Khan was not part of parliament when the board was constituted. However, she insisted that she remembered he was part of interim government at that time.
In 2023, Ahad Cheema was appointed as the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Establishment Division following Shehbaz Sharif's appointment as prime minister of Pakistan. He continued to serve in this role during the caretaker government after Shehbaz Sharif's first term ended. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan ordered the caretaker government to remove Cheema from the caretaker cabinet following a petition filed against him. The president of Pakistan approved his removal in December 2023.
The tenure of present board of the PARCO has been from May 22, 2023 to May 21, 2026 for a period of three years.
She showed her serious reservation on a retired bureaucrat Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan as independent director of the board. She argued that other competent former bureaucrat must have the equal opportunity to serve the board.
In ten-member board, Secretary Petroleum Division Momen Agha is chairman, Secretary Finance Division (Ex-officio Director), MD (Executive), AftabHussain, Ahad Khan Cheema, Mohammad Jahanzeb Khan (independent directors), Adnan Omar Mohamad Bu Fateem (Vice Chairman), Zayed Al Mazrouei, Friedrich Danzinger, Muqeet Amin Bawa (Abu Dhabi Petroleum Investments LLC).
PARCO is a fully integrated energy company and is one of the largest companies in Pakistan's corporate sector. A Joint Venture between the Government of Pakistan (60 per cent) and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (40 per cent), PARCO is a leading energy company incorporated as a public limited company in 1974 through its Mubadala Investment Company.
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommended the Petroleum Division to carry out audit of the accounts of Oil and Gas Development Company from international renowned international firms as the company is paying Rs 4.5 million per day for a rented oil rig.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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