Islamabad:

Senate’s Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs Tuesday reviewed critical issues related to the management of maritime assets, especially the controversial sale of 500 hectares of land at Port Qasim. The committee, chairman of the Senator Faisal Vawda, later ordered the cancellation of the sale.

Vawda later expressed his gratitude for the rapid action that the committee has taken, stating: “If we had not seized and postponed the country, the country would have lost RS60 billion. Our collective action ensured that false sales were canceled within 72 hours of our recommendations. ”

According to a press release, the committee dived into the sale of 500 hectares of land at Port Qasim, which was reportedly sold for only 2 percent advances, corresponding to a fraction of its actual value, estimated at RS60 billion.

The senator questioned the legitimacy of the transaction and stated: “Only 2 percent were taken after selling land worth the RS60 billion. If the transaction was legitimate, why was it turned within 72 hours? “
The country was originally awarded for industrial use in 2006, and the committee heard from officials that a settlement had been pursued outside the court in this case.

However, Vawda raised doubts and questioned why the land was sold for only 10 percent of its actual value and why the board did not take action before. “Who authorized the Port Qasim board to sell land worth RS60 billion for only RS5 billion? This goes beyond their scope and authority, ”he noted.

In his remarks, the senator outlined three options for dealing with such cases of incorrect management and corruption, “surrender, admit the corruption or fight against it.” He emphasized the importance of keeping responsible for those responsible for the financial loss for the country.

Senator Danesh Kumar raised concerns about the lack of a permanent chairman at both Karachi and Gwadar ports and emphasized the need for stable leadership in the maritime sector.

Vawda accepted that if the acting presidency were to continue, the permanent chairman should be removed. “The meaning of proper management cannot be exaggerated.”

The committee also questioned the role of the Port Qasim board in the controversial land sale. Port Qasim officials claimed that the case was handled correctly and that the board had done nothing illegal.

However, Senator Vawda challenged this claim and said, “Port Qasim not only sold the country malicious, but also changed the location of the balkhnum Razi project.”

He pointed out that the land was sold at an extraordinarily low price and noticed that a foreign company, “which was not really foreign but locally and had a questionable track record”, was involved in the deal.

The committee was also informed of the current state of Port Qasim’s soil. Port Qasim owns about 14,000 hectares of land with 9,574 hectares rented out. In addition, the authority bought 1,000 hectares of land and waits for the possession of 1,250 hectares from the Sindh government.

The committee noted the importance of prioritizing exports in the ports, which remains a key question for Pakistan’s maritime sector. VAWDA called for the inclusion of technocrats and business people from the private sector in the port’s management committee to ensure efficiency and transparency.

In accordance with the meeting from the meeting, the senator suggested several recommendations for immediate action. These included freezing of pending payments in acquisition agreements in land in Port Qasim, KPT, Gwadar Port and PNSC until further investigations are completed.

The committee also recommended a thorough study of the Shawn Refining Project with the potential for cancellation if criminal negligence exists.

The committee issued instructions that all lease agreements issued from 2018 to 2024 to all companies are frozen. The committee also ordered that the details of all the courts made under the governments of PTI, PDM and PML-N are provided to the committee. All lease agreements where the payments have not been made canceled.

The next meeting will further discuss appointments in important maritime departments and follow up on unresolved questions related to Port Qasim land sales and other maritime affairs.

The meeting attended the Senators Danesh Kumar, Naseema Ehsan, Rubina Qaim Khani, Husna Bano, Nadeem Bhutto and other senior officials, including the chairmen of relevant departments.

With input from app