April 28, 2003	Monday	Safar 25, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, April 27: Pakistan’s relations with a US company, which signed an agreement with the NAB to help recover country’s stolen assets in foreign lands, have gone sour due to “selective” approach of the bureau.

The dispute in all probabilities would end up at an arbitration forum in Ireland, involving costly proceedings.

Official sources on the condition of anonymity told Dawn that Broadsheet, the American firm, which made fine contribution in the arrest of ex-naval chief Mansurul Haq, was not happy with the working of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as its good work for the arrest of Amir Lodhi and Abdullah Shah, former Sindh chief minister, was wasted by the NAB.

The firm has also a dispute with the bureau on money sharing as the company is asking for 20 per cent shares in the money recovered from its targets through plea bargain.

The targets of the company also included sitting Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, the officials confirmed.

The government has already paid to the firm 20 per cent of the $7.5 million received from the ex-naval chief through a “plea bargain”, but it is not inclined to pay share from the amount recovered from the corrupt bureaucrats and politicians arrested in Pakistan.

The dispute, if not resolved amicably, will be raised before the arbitrators sitting in Ireland, as per an agreement the first NAB chief had signed on behalf of the government with the forum.

This, if happens, will be the fifth such arbitration on which the government will spend millions of dollars. Three such cases are already pending before the International Chamber of Settlement of Investment Dispute while the fourth one before the International Chamber of Commerce.

The NAB had entered into an agreement with Broadsheet, which claims to be a specialist in assets recovery, for regaining the plundered national wealth stashed in foreign banks by Pakistan’s public office holders.

The bureau had agreed to pay 20 per cent of the amount recovered with the help of the US company. Under the contract, the government was required to hand over a list of its “targets” to the company.

The targets, which the sources say are over 250, included ex-navel chief Mansurul Haq, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Akhunzada from the NWFP, Suleman Farooqi, Amir Lodhi and many others.

The dispute of share came up when the NAB recovered money from some of the accused bureaucrats, politicians and their accomplices from Pakistan. They were also on the list of targets provided to the company, therefore the firm is now demanding 20 per cent share from the amount recovered from them.

The NAB, the sources said, argued that it was not liable to pay anything to the American firm as the list was only valid outside Pakistan and not in the country.

But the US firm is not agreed to the NAB argument and has also raised objections on handling of the “targets”. These sources said the foreign firm, in its meetings with the NAB officials and lawyers it had been consulting with, was now specifically pointing the “targets” which had been in its reach, but were let off due to various reasons.

The foreign company stated that Amir Lodhi, an arms dealer, was in reach, but it had to back out because he happened to be the brother of a Pakistan’s diplomat in an important country.

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