- IGP asked to stop private directors from instigating labourers against the govt-appointed senior management
ISLAMABAD: Differences between the private board directors and government-appointed senior management of the Pakistan Engineering Company Limited (PECO) were worsening dramatically, as the PECO managing director has barred the entry of ‘disputed’ private directors into any premises of the company.
Sources privy to the development informed Pakistan Today that apart from barring the entry of the ‘disputed’ private directors of PECO’s board into the premises, the MD has also informed the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chairman about his action citing the Order of 1972, which grants absolute powers over the board of directors to the managing director.
The private directors were attempting to hold a meeting of the PECO board of directors on October 29 at the company’s Kot Lakhpat factory. However, the MD cancelled the board meeting and also sought assistance from police to safeguard the premises.
Sources revealed that the PECO managing director has also written a letter to the Lahore inspector general of police (operations) in this regard, requesting him to stop the charge-sheeted persons (already nominated in two FIRs) from instigating labourers against the government-appointed senior management.
“The managing director requested the IGP to take appropriate measures, including arrest and detention, to ensure that these elements are not allowed to create any hindrance in the smooth functioning of PECO’s operations at the factory/head office or any passage way leading thereto,” he added.
Available copy of the MD’s letter to IGP stated, “The disputed private directors, namely Arif Habib, Rashid Ali Khan, Mirza Mehmood Ahmed, Muhamamd Liaqat, Muhammad Iqbal and Ansar Javaid, are instigating their charge-sheeted accomplices, including Umar Farooq, Amir Reza, Anwar Aziz, Naeem Qureshi, Muhammad Awais Khan, Naveed Zulfiqar and others, to create unrest among the workers through false announcements that their salaries would be confiscated by the management.
The MD said that the private directors were “doing this deliberately” since former chief finance officer Anwar Aziz along with the former deputy general manager “had stolen the chequebooks of the company’s official bank accounts” and the company was unable to make payments to its suppliers and workers.
He also said that the private directors had also absconded with several of PECO’s official cars, laptops, computers and sensitive official files only to hide the record of their corruption.
Sources claimed that differences between the government-appointed senior management of the company and private directors of PECO’s board are worsening ostensibly because the Ministry of Industries requested Chartered Accountant Javed Hasnain Rashid to prepare a report over the “illegal and unauthorized” sale of 20.73 per cent shares of Pakistan Engineering Company Limited (PECO.
The report had disclosed an abrupt offloading of PECO’s shares to two private companies was done by the National Investment Trust (NIT) in the year 2003.
They said the investigation had hinted ‘inside trading’ in the sale of PECO shares to two private investors, namely Rotocast Engineering Pvt Limited and Maha Securities, disregarding the clear instructions of the Privatization Commission (PC) not to sell PECO’s shares to private investors without taking prior approval from them (PC).
They also said that the matter of determination of illegal sale of shares was pending with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), currently at the investigation and negotiation stage.
