ISLAMABAD, Aug 18: The Senate session on Friday witnessed a slanging match between the opposition and the treasury when Privatisation Minister Zahid Hamid wound up the four-day debate on the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation (PSMC) which has been annulled by the Supreme Court.

The treasury members, including some ministers, who tried to match the opposition senators in shouting became astray at times and in the dying moments staged a walkout in protest against alleged corruption of former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Hamid said the government had full respect for the Supreme Court judgment and it would be taking care of all the lacuna that have been pointed out while putting the mills on sale afresh, from advertisement to pre-qualification to approval of the highest bid.

As the minister stood for his speech, Leader of the Opposition Mian Raza Rabbani also took floor on a point of order to say that the prime minister should have come to the house and defended himself against the charges levelled against him by opposition lawmakers during the debate.

Dr Safdar Abbasi of the People’s Party Parliamentarians tried to interrupt the minister several times and particularly became furious with some other party stalwarts when Mr Hamid started reading out from the Supreme Court’s judgments in cases pertaining to dismissal of the governments of Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif.

Some ministers touched their ears to mock the two major opposition parties leadership’s alleged involvement in irregularities and corruption.

The privatisation minister said the Expression of Interest letters had been invited through an advertisement carrying salient terms and conditions for the bidders with financial details of the PSM.

He denied that incentive had been given to the successful bidder after the bidding process and said all the nine companies had pre-qualified for the bidding.

He said the financial advisor had evaluated the mills land to the tune of $281 million, which was not disclosed until it was presented before the cabinet committee on privatisation to acquire maximum price from the bidders.

He informed the house that it is common practice that multi-national companies formulated small companies in countries where tax ratio was lower and said that was also the case with the successful bidder.

He said the PSM administration had proposed to privatise 8,000 acres out of its 19,000 acres of land, but the government decided to privatise only 4,000 acres.

Mr Hamid said that while privatising the PSM the successful bidder would be bound to expand and modernise the plant.

The minister said 10 per cent of PSM shares would be given to the public as recommended by the Supreme Court and a proposal in this respect was

being prepared for changing the rules.

He said the present government has acquired Rs316 billion from 57 transactions in the privatisation programme.

Mr Hamid said since that 1991 all the governments had adopted the discounted cash flow method for privatisation.

Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi tabled in the house a draft agreed by a mediation committee of the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority bill 2005.

Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub justified levy of 15 per cent general sales tax on computer software in order to discourage its smuggling.