|
|
|
| June 6, 2005 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 28, 1426 |
PPP disputes defence ministry’s contention : Fauji Foundation issue
ISLAMABAD, June 5: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has rejected the contention of the defence ministry that it has no jurisdiction to appear for the Fauji Foundation at any forum because the latter was a private sector organization. The party also dismissed the decision of Senate Standing Committee on Defence Chairman Nisar Memon to cancel the requisitioned meeting on the basis of an opinion expressed by the defence ministry as unilateral, arbitrary and against the rules.
A meeting of the Senate defence committee was requisitioned by three senators — Sardar Mehtab Khan, Rukhsana Zuberi and Farhatullah Babar — to discuss the working of the foundation and the sale of Khoski Sugar Mills by it.
A press release issued by the Senate Secretariat on Saturday said the defence ministry had taken the position that it had no jurisdiction to appear for the Fauji Foundation at any forum and therefore the meeting on the subject would not be held.
Taking up the issues, PPP spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar, in a statement issued here on Sunday, said the foundation was administered by a committee comprising defence secretary as chairman and six three-star generals of the army, navy and air force as members, and as such it was the bounded duty of the defence ministry to answer questions about it.
The defence secretary in his capacity is wholly responsible for the administrative, business and commercial decisions of the foundation, the PPP spokesman said, adding that there was, therefore, no question of having no jurisdiction to appear before the Senate committee on issues relating to the foundation.
Mr Babar said the defence ministry had already set up a high-level inquiry into the sale of Khoski Sugar Mills and admitted in the National Assembly on April 21 that the foundation had sold the mills at Rs300 million to an enterprise against the highest received bid of Rs387 million.
“To maintain on one hand that the defence ministry is competent to order a probe into the foundation’s affairs and on the other hand claim that it has no jurisdiction to answer questions on its behalf is to mock at reason, logic, legality and morality.”
With regard to the contention that the foundation is a private entity, Senator Babar raised the following questions.
Is it correct that when the Fauji Fertilizer Company Jordan ran into serious financial troubles in 2003 its debt of several billion rupees was transferred to the federal government under the Paris Club?
He said the Economic Survey 2004-05 showed on page 214 that the government had explicit contingent liability of over one billion rupees on account of Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC) Jordan. He asked was there any other private entity for which the federal government had thus assumed liability.
“If the taxpayer’s money is used to the benefit of an industrial concern will it not bring that concern, even if private, under the scope of parliamentary review, he asked?”
The PPP spokesman said the position taken by the defence ministry was a volte face which could be taken with a straight face only by those who believed in the right of the might and not in the might of the right. It is designed to save the foundation and itself from embarrassing questions.
He said the Senate defence committee chairman, Nisar Memon, was wrong in taking a unilateral decision and declaring behind the back of the committee members in the dark of the night that the meeting would not be held.
“A requisitioned meeting will have to be convened even if those asked to attend either refuse or are unable to attend. The chairman has no powers under the rules to unilaterally declare cancellation of a requisitioned meeting only because a certain ministry had expressed an opinion that it had no jurisdiction.”
|
|
|
|
