Islamabad: Humiliation seems to be becoming a new norm, as a local newspaper reported that London Court of Arbitration (LCA) has slapped a Rs11 billion partial penalty on Pakistan in a case brought forward by eleven Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
As unfortunate the news is; it follows what has overall been a week of setbacks for the Government of Pakistan, as Profit reported about Turkish entity Karkey Karandeniz Eelktrik Uretim As, being awarded damages worth $700m in a rental power plants (RPPs) lawsuit filed against Pakistan in International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
The LCA will start proceedings for deciding the total damage to be awarded during its hearings scheduled for October 1st and 2nd. It is expected after the conclusion of the hearing, that the penalty to be paid by Pakistan would further increase.
Terming it as a collective failure of different government departments, a senior official blamed especially the power ministry of such catastrophic outcomes within a span of a month.
Legal pundits with abundant experience in such international litigation and arbitration cases have demanded an investigation into these abysmal failures of Pakistan in several arbitration cases which includes Reiko Diq, Karkey and now this IPP one.
IPPs responsible for having the brought the case against Pakistan in LCA were: 1) Halmore Power Generation Limited 2) Nishat Chunian Power Limited 3) Hub Power Company 4) Sapphire Electric Company Limited 5) Orient Power Company 6) Atlas Power Limited 7) Liberty Power Tech Limited 8) Nishat Power Limited 9) Saif Power Limited.
Humiliation? This word is not familiar with Naa Ahl. This IPP outstanding amount is one of the many gifts Nawaz left for us to pay on his behalf. Soon Abbassi will have similar amount or more for us to pay on LNG account.
Lack of capacity/ capability to visualize, lack of professional acumen, lack of accountability and above all indifferent attitude of bureaucracy / ruling elite to realize on such vital subjects of national importance result such catastrophic implications in the economy of Pakistan, making it poorer and poorer day by day. That is really pathetic.
But that is the point. They are the beneficiary of the system. There is no such thing as loyalty to the the country. They have put Pakistan in a situation where we are out of money. Literally in 3 or so weeks Pakistan is out of money, but our ill operated intelligence agencies have failed to connect the dots. They have missed hitmen who were assigned these tasks. It is a little too late, and now Pakistan, Pakistani Citizens and Pakistan Army will suffer the most. None of these elites of pakistan should be able to travel. There are about 1000 families that are holding this great country and nation hostage. They all should be put on ECL and investigation should be done on their assets. Every Penny needs to be put back in Pakistan. Sharifs, Bhuttoos, Zardaris, MQM, PPP, PML (All), PTI, ANP, Malik Rayaaz, and list will just go on. It has to end now, just like what India did in 80s and 90s. No one is bigger and powerful to hold the country hostage. We can’t let it be.. Too Big To Fail.