KARACHI: Pakistan Steel Mills saga and controversy continues unabated as Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday said the land belongs to the people of Sindh.
Shah voiced his ire at media reports about the settlement of PSM’s liabilities by the federal government worth Rs100b by entering into a provisional agreement with Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for clearing their dues.
He issued instructions to Sindh Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon to initiate communication with federal government on this issue and apprise them that the PSM land belongs to people of Sindh, a local newspaper reported.
CM Sindh reminded the then provincial govt in the 1970’s had allotted federal government land for setting up a steel mill complex. He added that after the federal govt’s incompetence to run the mill professionally, now it was eyeing the prized land of PSM. Shah reiterated that no bank or corporation would be permitted to take an inch of its land.
He said Sindh government had its own plans of utilizing PSM’s land for setting up of power plants and industrial units. He added PSM was a national asset, with immense profit-making promise but requires political will which the current people at the helm of affairs seem to be lacking.
Furthermore, he said that PSM has had no CEO from the last year or so, which indicated the government’s seriousness to resolve its issues. Shah attributed the failure of the government’s policies in the rising of liabilities and other issues of Pakistan Steel Mills.
