ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday reconstituted the board of management of Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd for a period of three years.

According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the 10-member board of management is led by Zafar I. Usmani as chairman while three other members included Tara Uzra Dawood, Mohammad Humayun Barakzai and Mohammad Shahid Khan.

Ms Tara belongs to the leading business family of Dawood’s and was fined by SECP a few years back for a case of insider-trading relating to Dawood Capital Management.

Other public sector members of the board include a joint secretary each from Ministries of Finance and Petroleum, Director-Gene­ral Petroleum Concessions, federal secretary power and managing irectors of OGDCL and PSOCL.

Acting CEO appointed for Steel Mills

Meanwhile, the government on Thursday gave the acting charge of chief executive officer (CEO) Pakistan Steel Mills to Mr Naeem Jan, a joint secretary of Grade 20 in the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP), on a look after basis.

The post of CEO Pakistan Steel was lying vacant a long time.

Mr Jan will supervise the day-to-day affairs of the steel mills and is authorised to attend PSM Board meetings on behalf of the ministry.

The board meeting of the PSM is scheduled to be held today and tomorrow (Feb 22 and 23).

The board is set to take up issues pertaining to the revival of PSM and the follow-up over various court cases related to the mills.

The incumbent PTI government has already formed a working group to suggest the future of PSM – whether it was feasible to restart the mills under government control, its unbundling or inviting bids for its privatisation.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2019