ISLAMABAD: The federal government is not willing to hand over to provinces assets of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) worth billions of rupees, and is looking for a way to retain them even after devolution of the tourism ministry under 18th Amendment of the Constitution, sources said on Sunday.

Although the PTDC was previously working under the ministry, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif thought that the corporation could not be handed over to the provinces because it was formed under the Companies Ordinance, 1984, which was still in force, the sources said.

They said the prime minister held a meeting on the future of the PTDC and tasked Private Secretary to the PM (PSPM) Javed Aslam to consult senior bureaucrats to find a way to retain control of the PTDC and its 40 hotels, motels and other properties.

“I attended the meeting in which the prime minister asked the PSPM to hold a meeting with law, finance, cabinet division, CADD and information secretaries,” PTDC’s Deputy Managing Director Ghaffar Khan told Dawn, when contacted. He said that on the directives of the prime minister, Mr Aslam held a meeting with secretaries of different ministries and sought suggestions on the matter.

“The officials gave some suggestions on the issue which were sent to the prime minister for a final decision,” he added.