F.P. Report
KARACHI: Sindh Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution against the alleged efforts to sell out Pakistan Steel Mills and Pakistan International Airlines by the present PML-N government.
The resolution presented by Sikandar Mandhro was unanimously passed.
The resolution was presented by the ruling party a day after its Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pledged that his Party will safeguard and protect the national assets vociferously and warned PML-N government to desist from selling out Pakistan Steel, PIA and other state units through a suspicious privatization process.
The PPP Chairman was talking to a delegation of Pakistan Steel Peoples Workers Union (Registered) led by Union Chairman Shamshad Qureshi, which called on him at Bilawal House on Monday. Other PWU office-bearers Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, Ghulam Mustafa Zardari, Abdul Ghaffar Bughio, Syed Hameedullah and Mirza Tariq Javed accompanied him. PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, General Secretary Waqar Mehdi, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, Saeed Ghani, Javed Nagori, and Habibuddin Junaidi were also present on the occasion.
The delegation briefed the Chairman in detail about the worst condition of Pakistan’s biggest industrial unit under the PML-N government and its attempts to sell out it at throw away prices to its own hidden henchmen.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that PPP won’t allow rulers to selling or leasing out Pakistan Steel and severe opposition will be made to these attempts both inside and outside the Parliament. He said that PML-N was selling national assets while PTI appears to be supporting the move.
PPP Chairman assured that PPP won’t leave Pakistan Steel employees in lurk and demanded that gas connection to the Steel Mills should be restored and production started without any further delay. “Salaries to the employees have not been paid since last five months while the outstanding dues of retired employees and pensions have also been stopped,” he said and asked the government to immediately pay salaries and other dues to the employees.
Earlier, briefing the Chairman PPP about the conditions of Pakistan Steel, the delegation pointed out that foundation of the biggest industrial unit of Pakistan was laid by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on December 30, 1973. Anti-state and anti-labour elements had been painting Pakistan Steel as ‘White Elephant’ and burden on economy despite the fact that it not only recovered the investment but paid back Rs100 billion in the form of taxes to the government.
