ISLAMABAD, Aug 12: Swiss company, SGS, has offered Pakistan to make an out of court settlement.

Official sources told Dawn that the Swiss company, which was awarded a pre-shipment inspection (PSI) contract by the PPP government, and later terminated by the next government, wanted to end the litigation with Islamabad.

Former premier Benazir Bhutto and her spouse, Asif Zardari, were accused of awarding the contract to the SGS for their pecuniary advantages.

The money collected from the SGS was allegedly kept in Swiss banks and on its basis Ms Bhutto was convicted by a Swiss court.

The sources said that the SGS, after the decision of International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in which it accepted one plea of the SGS but rejected another for the payment of damages, had approached the government to make an out of court of settlement.

The sources said the company which was demanding $128 million as damages, plus cost and compensation, reaching $328 million, is ready to withdraw all the cases if the government pay it $9m. The company had asked the government to clear the unpaid invoices amounting to $9 million, the sources said and added Islamabad was giving it a serious thought on grounds that it was the best offer.

The government believed that litigation at the ICSID was a costly affair, and it would cost millions of dollars if the process continued, the sources said.

Besides, the SGS claim two more claims of $900 million are pending. Bayinder of Turkey, whose contract for construction of Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway was terminated, is demanding $450 million. Similarly, Impregilo of Italy, contractor for Ghazi Barotha, is also demanding $450 million.