KARCHI, Oct 27: The chairman of the Pakistan Railway Workers Federation, Manzoor Razi, on Saturday urged Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to stop new agreements with foreign companies for the procurement of new goods wagons and also asked for a probe into the affairs of the goods wagons which had already been purchased at a cost of Rs16 billion.

He said that the government had started negotiations with three Chinese firms for the purchase of 300 goods wagons and instead of open tender had awarded the contract clandestinely to a particular Chinese company without prior approval from the Central Development Working Party.

Mr Razi said that keeping in view the criticism from some quarters the contract was then awarded to an Iranian firm.

He said that during the tenure of the former federal minister for railways, Javaid Ashraf Qazi, sixty-nine railway engines and 200 passenger coaches were purchased wherein massive irregularities were reported.

He was of the view that instead of importing engines and coaches the government should improve its own production capacity.