ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: Three members of the board of directors of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) have resigned because of “interference by the government” in the affairs of the mills, while two other members have retired, complicating matters after its privatization was cancelled by the Supreme Court.

The 11-member board was constituted on February 7, 2005.

Tariq Sehgol, Iqbal Khawaja and Sohail Wajahat, who resigned from the board’s membership, belonged to the corporate sector. The joint secretary of the ministry of industries and production, Chaudhry Hafeez, had been transferred to the ministry of sports, culture and tourism, while the former chairman of Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), Maj-Gen Mohammad Javed retired from the army. Both were the members of the board.

“The purpose of reconstituting the board was to improve the mills’ performance and to make sure that there will be regular commercial and external audits. But now when this board is not complete, it cannot hold any meeting and, therefore, it cannot deliver,” said a source.

Sources said that the situation was further aggravated because of alleged differences between Minister for Industries and Production Jehangir Tareen and Chairman of the PSM Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum over the day-to-day running of the affairs of the mills.