THIS is with reference to the news ‘PIA plane seized in Malaysia over $14m lease dispute’ (Jan 16). There has been a string of disputes involving Bayindir, Tethyan Copper Company, and Broadsheet, with Peregrine Aviation being the latest to have a dispute with Pakistan.

One common factor in all these disputes is that the public-sector institutions involved could not honour the agreed commitment or could not fulfil their part of the deal, resulting in conflicts with foreign firms.

The disputes went into litigation, and the cases were decided against the enterprises.

It is a sad and embarrassing story, not only badly tarnishing the country’s image abroad, but also putting a strain on the fragile economy in two ways: first, the non-fulfilment of the job, and, second, the required payment of a penalty for the violation of the contract.

I wonder why things are what they are. Is it because proper homework was not done at our end by the experts before the execution of the contracts? Were they unaware of the intricacies, obligations and consequences while entering into agreements with foreign companies?

Consequently, because of their ineptitude and unprofessional approach, the disputes went in for arbitration at international forums.

It seems that the lawyers engaged were also not well-versed with the cases, or were not competent enough to defend the public-sector companies.

It is also possible that we were standing on a weak wicket, in which case negotiations should have been made with the aggrieved party for an amicable settlement outside the court.

Furthermore, it has been observed that with a change in the government, the people at the helm of affairs are not too eager to pursue the policies and projects of the previous government on the plea that these were not worthwhile.

They forget that sovereign guarantees back these agreements and one government cannot back out unilaterally.

Muhammad K. Sufi
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2021