May 20, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1429

LAHORE, May 19: Lahore High Court Justice Syed Asghar Haider directed the law officer on Monday to seek instructions from the food secretary and the Lahore district coordination officer (DCO) regarding raids being conducted on seed corporations to check their stocks.

Azam Nazir Tarar, representing seed corporations, said the Food Department and the DCO had started harassing the seed corporations by raiding their stores and consequently bringing their business to a standstill.

He said his clients Shahjer Saeed Corporation and others were running lawful business of procurement, refinement and supply of seeds of different crops.

He said that before buying wheat seeds from crop growers it was a must to get the crop examined and inspected by the Seed Certification and Registration Department deputy director.

He said his clients duly received such acceptance and certification from the Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) Ministry.

He added Minfal, through a letter written on May 12, 2008, named 20 seed companies as top companies without disclosing any criteria.

On the bases of the letter, the Punjab Food Department, except the big 20 companies, placed under sanction the remaining companies operating in Punjab, he said.

HBL privatisation: The Wattan Party has moved the Supreme Court seeking hearing of the plea challenging privatisation of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) before June 30.

Petitioner’s counsel Barrister Zafarullah Khan said the HBL was sold off to the Aga Khan Fund on Jan 4, 2004, against Rs22.4 billion. “The money is far less than the worth of the assets of the bank that stands at Rs23.7 billion,” he said.

He said the sale of the HBL was mala fide because it was held in a clandestine manner. He said the privatisation of 51 per cent of the bank’s shares at such a throwaway price would affect people because the bank was considered to be part of Pakistan’s economic growth.

He said a Canadian company had offered Rs60 billion to a previous government for the HBL, but the then government turned down the bid. He said the Supreme Court on Dec 15, 2005, had directed the government and other respondents to provide complete record, including the minutes of the cabinet committee meeting, regarding the sale of the HBL to the Aga Khan Fund. Since then the petition had not been taken up, he said.

He asked the court to set aside the auction of the HBL and direct the Aga Khan Fund not to interfere in the bank’s affairs and management until the final adjudication of the matter by the Supreme Court.