Ex-CJP Chaudhry’s HBFC loan stirs heated debate

Parliamentary body wants to know if loan was returned

ISLAMABAD:

The Public Accounts Committee  (PAC) on Thursday directed the House Building Finance Company Limited (HBFC) to provide details of the money lent to former chief justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The parliamentary body had issued the directions after ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) member Sardar Ashiq Hussain Gopang asked the sums lent and whether any of it had been returned.



“Tell us how much money Justice (retd) Chaudhry has borrowed?” Gopang asked as he cited statements of the ex-chief justice wherein he had admitted to taking loans from the body which provides affordable housing solutions to low and middle income groups.

“You (HBFC) recover money from other defaulters forcefully," what was your position in this case where a former CJP happens to be a client? Gopang went on to ask.

The questions were asked as HBFC MD Pervez Said briefed the committee on audit paras of Ministry of Finance for fiscal year 2010-11. He said that the additional sums it had collected from customers under the head of late payments and others were being kept as ‘charity’ in light with a Sharia decision in 1998.



When asked by PAC Chairman Khursheed Shah, Said explained they had collected between Rs900 million to a billion but it has never been disbursed.



“You could not find a poor man in Pakistan in the last 17 years,” asked Shah.

The committee also discussed several irregularities pointed out by auditors, such as Rs6.49 million disbursed among HBFC employees as ‘recovery incentive’. Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan defended the move, explaining that it had been given to motivate employees.

“Recovery is their job and they are paid for this,” Gopang argued.

Controversial appointment

The committee also discussed the contractual appointment of Sara Bakhtiar as “special counsel” in 2006 for State Bank of Pakistan [SBP] on a salary package of Rs375,809 without any advertisement. Later this package was revised in 2008 to Rs502,960 – much higher than the prescribed MP-II scale for such contract. Bakhtiar was appointed on the recommendation of Justice (retired) Mamoon Kazi.

Khan referred to section 54 (2) (j) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act 1956 and said the decision was taken by the Board of Directors, which was fully authorised to take such decisions. To substantiate the appointment, SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra quoted the apex court’s judgement in the Anita Turab case.

However, members of the committee pointed out Bakhatiar had been appointed before that judgment.

SC’s help sought to reclaim ex-CJP’s bulletproof car

Naveed Qamar said that while the BoD can decide salaries, it was still bound to advertise the post. This point was endorsed by Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho who said the appointment was against the constitution since other qualified citizens were not given a chance to compete for it.



“Senior lawyers do not apply for such posts,” the Finance Secretary offered.

After a lengthy debate on rules and discretion, the PAC directed to re-examine the case in light of SC decision, SBP Act and opinion of the Law Ministry.

Circular debt

Members of the ruling party were seen dragging their feet on briefing the committee over the Rs480 billion circular debt paid by the government which auditors had raised flags over.

However, on the insistence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Arif Alvi and PPP’s Qamar – who had missed the previous briefings – the committee decided to have a fresh briefing about the debt payment.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th,  2016.

Correction: In an earlier version of this article, Sara Bakhtiar was mentioned as a special counsel for Pakistan Security Printing Corporation. The error has been corrected and is regretted.