March 19, 2007	Monday	Safar 29, 1428

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MULTAN, March 18: City District Nazim Mian Faisal has termed the allegations against him by the opposition and different social groups regarding the purchase of a fertiliser factory on Khanewal Road preposterous.

Speaking at a public gathering at Mohallah Bashirabad near Khoni Burj here on Sunday, the district nazim said that the Fatimah Group of Industries had purchased the Pak-Arab fertilizer factory in an open auction. He said seven big organizations had participated in the bidding, including the Allied Bank Limited and a firm from Dubai.

He said the Fatimah group was establishing country’s largest fertilizer-manufacturing plant in Sadiqabad and dozens of national and international banks had given loans of billions of rupees for this purpose.

These banks, he said, would never advance loans to the Fatimah Group had it been involved in any financial scandal.

Doing any business was not a crime, he said and added that he never leveled charges against his opponents for extending their business while his rivals had moved the high court for his removal from the district nazim post.

MPA Dr Javed Siddiqi said he had no objection on the purchase of the Fatimah Group, but his real complaint was against the district nazim who was making no effort for the city development. He was also against his behaviour with political rivals.

He said the Punjab government was constructing Lai Express Way with an amount of Rs16 billion in Rawalpindi, the Ring Road in Lahore at a cost of Rs80 billion and an industrial zone in Faisalabad, but no such mega project was being planned for Multan.

PML-N MPA Babu Nafees Ahmed Ansari said that a bid of Rs45 billion had been given at an auction during the first term of the Nawaz Sharif regime, but the government had refused on the grounds that only sick units could be privatized.

He said the Fatimah Group and Arif Habib Group had purchased the plant for only Rs14 billion while the net profit of that year was Rs3 billion.

Ansari alleged that only Rs4 billion had been paid to various banks while rest of the payment was converted into liabilities.