ISLAMABAD, March 27: The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) has sent a list of 2,128 defaulters to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to recover dues amounting to millions of rupees from them and initiate criminal proceedings if they fail to clear the arrears by April 4.

Documents available with Dawn showed that NAB itself had defaulted on the payment of Rs291,518 to the power utility company.

Others who have to pay over Rs100,000 to Iesco include former MNA Anjum Aqeel Khan, Rangers, Army, the Election Commission of Pakistan, federal ombudsman, the embassy of Iran, the Nigerian high commission and bureaucrats.

Besides, a number of government and private departments are also in the list.

According to the documents, Iesco updated its list of defaulters with arrears of Rs100,000 or more as on February 28, 2013, and sent the list NAB to start the recovery process.

An officer of NAB said on March 21 NAB issued notices to the defaulters through advertisements and asked them to pay the arrears within 15 days to avoid any action.

“After April 4, not only names of the defaulters will be made public through the media but also criminal proceedings will be started against them which include arrest and confiscation of their property. In the meantime, Iesco will also disconnect the connections to the defaulters to avoid further losses,” he said.But NAB is itself a defaulter of Rs291,518 to Iesco for consumption of electricity at its headquarters in sector G-5, the documents showed.

The list also revealed that former member of National Assembly Anjum Aqeel Khan has to pay Rs209,687. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is the major defaulter as its different departments have to pay their outstanding bills. Its Capital Hospital has to pay Rs4,793,333 while the project coordinator for Shakarparian owes Rs1,954,721 to Iesco.

Notices have also been sent to Balochistan House to pay Rs2,302,058 and to Sindh House for the payment of Rs1.3 million.

The management of Foreign Office Hostel at sector F-5/3 is also a defaulter of Rs403,177.

An amount of Rs3,211,558 is outstanding towards Rangers for the utilisation of electricity at its headquarters in Saidpur while army’s Tarlai complex has not paid Rs853,682.

The documents showed that the Election Commission of Pakistan in sector G-5 has to pay Rs410,839 and judges rest house at G-5/2 owes Rs1,012,479.

National Press Club at sector F-6/1 is also defaulting on Rs349,487. Iesco also has to recover Rs119,259 from the Special Education Centre at G-while Pims has not clear a bill of Rs6,092,095.

Most interestingly, Sardar Kushmala, a resident of F-6/2 katchi abadi, sublet his electricity connection to other residents and is defaulting on Rs415,462.

NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid told Dawn that under the NAB ordinance 1999, it was the duty of the bureau to recover government property and money.

“We will make the names of the defaulters public on April 4 and after that criminal proceeding will be initiated against them,” he said.

“As far as arrears of NAB are concerned, we used some rooms in a building of the ministry of finance in sector G-5 but Iesco sent us the bill of the whole building. We are negotiating with Iesco on the issue. Otherwise there is no outstanding amount,” he said.

Opinion

Editorial

Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...
By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...