ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to put all those responsible for the downfall of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) and loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer on the Exit Control List after initiating a comprehensive inquiry into the collapse of the country’s largest enterprise.

“NAB has decided to put names of all those responsible...on the ECL so that culprits cannot flee the country,” according to an official handout issued by the bureau on Friday.

However, the handout did not mention who would be placed on the list, only officials and bureaucrats, or politicians too.

The handout explains that NAB has decided to conduct a comprehensive inquiry to fix the problems being faced by the PSM and see where billions of rupees are being squandered.

The inquiry has been assigned to pinpoint the “conspiracy against the steel mills”, find those responsible and also investigate reasons for the government’s apathy on the issue.

The National Assembly’s Stan­ding Committee on Industries and Production also took notice of the steel mills’ condition and asked NAB to take action.

More than a week ago, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader MNA Asad Umar requested NAB chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal to initiate a probe into the gradual decline of the steel mills and put responsibility on those who were behind its failure and loss to the country.

The MNA had raised an important question — why had the present Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government disconnected gas connections of the PSM two years ago when the condition of the organisation was improving.

He said the PSM played a vital role in the industrial development of the country but in July 2015, gas supply to the mills was cut off, leading to its closure.

“According to information provided to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries and Production, the PSM is incurring a loss of approximately Rs1.4 billion each month, resulting in a loss of precious foreign exchange being spent on importing steel in the country for the private and public sectors,” the MNA said.

He added that salaries to the employees were being paid with a lag of several months and retirement benefits were also overdue in many cases.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2017