ISLAMABAD: Describing the government’s plans to privatise Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd as a “conspiracy” against the country, the General Body Meeting of OGDCL’s Officer Association on Monday announced to resist the company’s privatisation.

The resolution passed at the meeting said the firm’s privatisation would be defended in the national interest.

Addressing the meeting, OGDCL Officers Association President Jahangaiz Khan said the company posted a profit-after-tax of Rs90.77 billion on net sales of Rs223.36bn during the last fiscal year, and paid Rs55bn in taxes to the national exchequer.

He added that under these circumstances the privatisation of this national asset is nothing but a part of international conspiracy.

Speakers at the meeting said the government should only privatise the loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and not the firms with a balance sheet like the OGDCL’s.

It was highlighted that after the sale of 26 per cent shares of OGDCL the government was going to shift administrative company’s affairs in private hands.

“This is part of an international conspiracy,” Jahangaiz Khan said, adding, “The plan was to get control on oil and gas reservoir and push the Muslims toward backwardness and degradation.”

Other office-bearers said that the present democratic government had prepared a plan to privatise all major SOEs, and termed it as neo-capitalism.