logo
Probe into power projects: Senate panel for action against PD for providing ‘misleading' info

Probe into power projects: Senate panel for action against PD for providing ‘misleading' info

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs has recommended the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) taking action against the Power Division for allegedly providing misleading information during an inquiry initiated by the former caretaker Federal Minister for Energy.
The inquiry pertains to the ACSR Bunting Conductor tender and the World Bank-funded 765kV Dasu-Islamabad Transmis-sion Line Project (Lot-1).
According to official documents, Additional Secretary Power Division, Imtiaz Hussain Shah, informed the Committee on June 30, 2025, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had confirmed no Power of Attorney (PoA) related to Chinese firms M/s Henan Tong-DA Cable Co. Ltd. or M/s Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology Co. Ltd. was submitted to the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing for verification. The Embassy also clarified that since Pakistan joined the Apostille Convention in November 2024, such attestations are no longer required through diplomatic channels.
HUBCO proposes $51mn investment in Thar-based coal projects
The Committee, chaired by Senator Saif Ullah Abro, directed the EAD and Power Division to directly contact the companies involved to determine whether they had ever submitted such documents.
In its session, the Committee was also briefed on the submission of records for a special audit into the ACSR Bunting Conductor case. These were handed over to the Auditor General's office on June 4, 2025.
Regarding the high-voltage Dasu–Islamabad Transmis-sion Line (Lot-1), the Power Division shared that the internal inquiry led by GM NGC Muhammad Mustafa had recommended referring the matter to the World Bank. The Bank, in response, confirmed that the procurement process was conducted in line with its guidelines.
However, the Committee expressed concern over a potential cover-up. Officials from the Power Division failed to present the supplementary report that supposedly formed the basis for communication with the World Bank. Instead, they showed only a letter written by a former senior official, which the Committee suspects was intended to conceal irregularities. The panel demanded all correspondence relating to that letter and clarified that under World Bank procurement regulations, the borrower (in this case, Pakistan) holds full responsibility for the procurement process.
The Committee was told that no formal inquiry report was ever prepared or submitted by former caretaker Energy Minister Muhammad Ali, despite his active role as head of an internal investigation committee. Power Division officials stated they had only heard about an unsigned report, which was never officially shared.
The Committee was visibly shocked and questioned how the former Minister was able to present conclusions at a Senate Standing Committee meeting on February 20, 2024, without a documented report. It directed the Power Division to locate and submit even an unsigned copy of the inquiry findings and recommended that EAD take disciplinary action against the Power Division for providing misleading information in this matter.
The Committee further advised EAD to seek clarification on how both the former caretaker Minister and the then Secretary of the Power Division—members of the inquiry committee—could act with such negligence, allegedly concealing facts about financial and procedural irregularities in key power sector tenders.
On the issue of recovering Rs 1.282 billion from a contractor involved in the 765kV Dasu–Islamabad Grid Station (Lot-IV), the Committee clarified that the NTDC Board was not authorized to conduct an independent inquiry. It recalled earlier discussions confirming that the disputed amount was not to be considered in the bid evaluation, per the bidding documents.
The Committee instructed EAD to formally write to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to ensure recovery of the Rs 1.282 billion from the lowest bidder in line with earlier recommendations.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Pakistan's documented Steel Industryis proud of making Pakistan self-reliantin production of world class steel
Pakistan's documented Steel Industryis proud of making Pakistan self-reliantin production of world class steel

Business Recorder

time5 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Pakistan's documented Steel Industryis proud of making Pakistan self-reliantin production of world class steel

Evenin most difficult of situations there is no choicebut to remain hopeful and optimistic in pursuitof good times. This is how challenges could bedefeated and difficulties could be overcome. To achieve success, it is equally important to learn from pastmistakes and not to repeat the same mistakes again and again. Itis very simple, doable as well as an achievable goal for our countrywhich is blessed with abundance of natural resources, unmatchedhuman talent and hard working youth force. Whereas we can identify many weak areas like governancerelated issues, inconsistent policies or failure in implementation ofeven when policies were good. However, there is a broad consensusof all of us on one point – Pakistan is one of the most resilientcountries. In our entire history, we have been making mistakesrepeatedly and doing a lot of experiments, still, this countrycontinues its journey. In some areas we have made remarkable progress like in ourdefence capabilities. In our recent encounter with our arch enemyIndia, Pakistan proved its strength as one of the strongest forces inthe world. After a long time, it was a moment of great pride for eachand every Pakistani when several times bigger adversary was defeatedby the shaheens of our Air Force as well as our armed forces. However, on the economic front, no doubt we are makingsome progress and moving ahead but we are too slow-moving ininches whereas there is need to leapfrog in miles to catchup withrest of the world. Many countries who started their modest economicand industrial journey just like Pakistan decades ago, have overtaken us in economic and industrial progress. We have beenlistening a lot about the fact that South Korea took Pakistan' development plan in early 60s. Today, South Korea is one of theleading industrial countries in the world. Now let's talk about Vietnam and Bangladesh. Even thesecountries are leaving us much behind. This situation merits serioussoul-searching by all of us and especially those at the helm of we went wrong and what needs to be done. These are thequestions which we need to respond and address seriously, if weare willing to change for the better. Now let me focus on the state of affairs of long steel sector: Pakistan's Steel Industry deploys state of theart technology with lowest carbon emissions During the last decade, immense investments were made byleading players of steel sector for enhancement of capacity ofdomestic steel industry. Pakistan China Economic Corridor wasthe biggest charm for the large investors. As a result, manyleading players of Pakistan are far ahead in comparison withregional players in terms of deployment of latest technologiesand in efficiency. Due to investments made in acquiring world-class technologies in recent years by large steel producersof documented sector, Pakistan's steel industry has the lowestemissions. According to recent World Bank report, emissionsintensity of steel production in Pakistan t-CO2/t-steel is farlesser than global benchmark of 2.5 t-CO2/t-steel. Core challenges confronting documentedsteel industry At this point in time, Pakistan steel industry has the capacityto meet the entire domestic demand of steel now as well as infuture. However, right now the industry is working at lessthen 50% of its capacity. During the FY 2021, the import ofscrap to Pakistan was around 5 mln MT which is reduced toalmost 50 % in recent years. This is a direct result of demanddestruction which is the mother of the crisis being faced bythe steel industry. The Govt has taken some good measuresin recent budget, however, much more needs to be done tostimulate housing & construction industry, which will helpnot only the steel industry but it will give new life to over 5 downstream industries. Indeed, this single initiative on thepart of the Govt can help in reviving the entire economy ofthe country. The second biggest challenge facing steel industry ispitching of tax evading informal sector which producessub-standard steel versus those documented & fully compliantplayer who are making payment of all kinds of duties &taxes ethically and produce high quality steel. This situationhas created an unfair competition and has put tax – payingdocumented sector at great disadvantage. So far the Governmenthas not succeeded in taking measures to correct thissituation effectively. As a result, the documented and compliantsteel sector continues to shrink while the informal sectorcontinues to grow. Also, the Government is not givingincentives to fully documented & compliant sector whichindirectly amounts to encouraging the informal economy. Steel is the backbone of any country's economy 'Steel is accorded highest importance world over as it is oneof the basic industries, and it remains one of the most protectedindustries the world over. However, in Pakistan, it remainsas an ignored industry.' These are the remarks of a Chineseinvestor whose company is the first private sector investmentventure from China to Pakistan. Apart from many other factors, the key reason thatdespite its importance for economy the steel industry remainsignored is that in Pakistan there are two types of industrialgroups. Group one comprise of the so-called 'privileged,powerful and successful' industries who get lion's share ofthe Govt subsidies and privileges. Due to power and cloutthis group, it is said, their issues get resolved on a singletelephone call. The Second group comprise of all-of-the-restwho keep struggling for survival but fail to get any supportor importance from the Government machinery. This is thestark reality of Pakistan. If we want our industry to progressthis practice must change so that each and every sector ofeconomy gets equal importance and opportunity to runindustry and to succeed on merit. Substandard steel production and operationsof unregistered mills MUST END! Mostly produced by unregistered mills / informal sector, over50% construction steel sold in our country is substandard and does not conform to Pakistan Standards. This raisesserious questions on the effectiveness of bodies like is in the category of mandatory list and cannot beproduced by unregistered mills. Pakistan falls underearthquake-prone seismic zone and usage of sub standardsteel at such a large scale amounts to creating national riskfor to future generations. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Pakistan govt earns Rs46.73bn from scrap sale of 16 units
Pakistan govt earns Rs46.73bn from scrap sale of 16 units

Business Recorder

time6 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Pakistan govt earns Rs46.73bn from scrap sale of 16 units

ISLAMABAD: The Power Division announced on Friday that the government has successfully sold scrap from 16 units for Rs46.73 billion. According to an official statement following the Prime Minister's announcement, substantial progress has been made in selling scrap from old and defunct government power generation plants. The reserve price for scrap from a total of 61 units was set at Rs45.817 billion, while the actual sale exceeded expectations, fetching Rs46.73 billion. The reserve price was determined by experts from the State Bank of Pakistan. In the first phase, scrap from 31 units was sold to private bidders for Rs8.475 billion, against a reserve price of Rs7.593 billion. Contracts with the successful bidders in this phase have already been finalized. Leghari urges chief ministers to scrap electricity duty from bills starting July During the second phase, scrap from 30 government power plants was sold for Rs38.255 billion, slightly above the reserve price of Rs38.224 billion. Contracts for this phase have also been completed. The government thermal power plants included in the second phase are Jamshoro Block I & II, Guddu II, Sukkur, Quetta, Muzaffargarh Block I and Block II, and Faisalabad. Employees of these government thermal power plants are being deployed in electricity distribution companies to utilize their services. These defunct government power plants were incurring annual expenses of billions of rupees. This sale has not only resulted in annual savings of billions of rupees at the national level, but the services of employees are also being effectively utilized. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Planning minister apprises World Bank official about India's ‘water weaponisation' designs
Planning minister apprises World Bank official about India's ‘water weaponisation' designs

Business Recorder

time8 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Planning minister apprises World Bank official about India's ‘water weaponisation' designs

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal called on the international community to ensure India adheres to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). He warned that water weaponisation and violations of the treaty could trigger global food and water crises, posing serious risks to regional stability, adding that such actions can imperil the world peace. The minister shared these views in a meeting with Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa Osman Dione, who called on him in Planning Ministry, Islamabad, on Friday. In the meeting, matters regarding strengthening the collaborative partnership between the World Bank and the Ministry of Planning came under discussion. The minister asserted that adopting an export-led growth model is indispensable for sustainable development. He reaffirmed Pakistan's ambition to increase exports from $32 billion to $100 billion, aiming to boost economic growth and sustainability. During the meeting, the World Bank vice president lauded Professor Ahsan Iqbal's significant contributions towards improving Pakistan's economy. He also highlighted the government's successful efforts in curbing inflation through tough policy measures, which have restored investor confidence and driven the Pakistan Stock Exchange beyond the 130,000-point mark. Professor Iqbal stressed the importance of revitalising the previously established partnership between the ministry and the World Bank to accelerate progress in national development projects. The minister noted that the global economy is transitioning from an industrial-based to a technology-driven model, underscoring the need for Pakistan to adapt accordingly. The minister further underscored the government's commitment to addressing child stunting issue, describing it as a serious national challenge requiring urgent and effective intervention. He added that education remains a priority, with rising enrollment rate of girls in higher education signalling positive progress. Professor Iqbal stressed the pivotal role of women in achieving development goals, affirming the ministry's commitment to fostering women's active participation in all socio-economic initiatives. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store