Saturday, April 26, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 19, 1429    

Stock Exchange crash scam referred to NA finance body
Wheat export, import caused Rs 44.9b loss: Dar

Sharafat Kazmi

Islamabad—The National Assembly Friday referred the matter of Stock Market Scandal of 2005 that resulted in 700 billion rupees loss to the investors in the Stock Exchanges.

Earlier, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar responding a point of order that small investors faced a net loss of 700 billion rupees as the market declined from the highest level of over 46 billion dollars to over thirty-five billion dollars in March 2005. He said besides the Task Force constituted by the then government a report of the Forensic Investigation team from the United States also pointed out involvement of some significant brokers in this scam. Mr. Dar proposed to refer the whole matter to the Finance Committee of the House for independent deliberations on the issue and suggest measures against the culprits involved in that scam.

The National Assembly was also informed that the government has taken stringent measures to control price escalation of cement and sugar and their smooth supply in the market. Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar told the House during question hour Friday that Pakistan had to suffer a loss of 44.9 billion rupees due to import of wheat during the current financial year.

He said overall seven million tons of wheat was exported as the consequence of mismanagement and inaccurate estimates that has been resulted long queues of the people for the purchase of flour at higher rate. He said the previous government allowed wheat export of about five hundred thousand tons wheat last year at a rate of two hundred dollars per ton and later on imported it on higher rate of five hundred dollars per ton. To a question, he said according to the preliminary estimates there will be a shortfall of nine hundred and twenty thousand tons of wheat this year.

However he said the government will arrange one point five million tons of wheat import this year on lower prices to meet the requirement including five hundred thousand metric tons wheat as strategic storage. Mr. Ishaq Dar informed the House that the country’s debt that was 2900 billion rupees till 1999 has gone to 5700 billion rupees during the last seven years. He said non-development budget that was 475 billion rupees in 1999 has been increased up to 1400 billion rupees.

He said the government has to pay five hundred billion rupees to various public sector companies while previous government did not allocate the amount in the budget. The Finance Minister informed the National Assembly that there is overall 555 billion rupees shortfall in the national revenue while the previous government crossed the limit of borrowing of 81 billion rupees from the State Bank and took an overdraft of 400 billion rupees.

He proposed to refer the whole financial situation to the Finance Committee of the House to have detail deliberations and bipartisan debate and look the matter in threadbare so that no future government should make run over expenditures. Minister for Privatization Syed Naveed Qamar informed the House that so far thirty-six units of public sector have been privatized and the government would continue privatization policy with a view to engage private sector in the economic growth.

He said the privatization of those units in which provincial governments were also involved, Council of Common Interests was taken into confidence before initiation of their privatization process. He said the government should not engage in business while the private sector should come forward as engine of growth.

Syed Naveed Qamar said keeping in view the market environment and examining the situation, the government would take decision for privatization of even those public sector units which are running in profit at present.