Jehangir Shah appointed acting chief of PSO

Appointment comes after expiry of MD Imranul Haq’s contract

ISLAMABAD: The government has appointed Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Deputy Managing Director Jehangir Ali Shah as acting chief of the state-run oil marketing giant.

His appointment came after the contract of managing director Sheikh Imranul Haq expired on August 31 and the government did not extend his contract. Haq has faced inquiry by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against his appointment. PSO is facing acute financial constraints due to record high receivables of Rs325 billion and an 11% drop in the company’s market share over the past few years.



According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, Shah has been appointed acting chief for 90 days or until the appointment of a regular managing director. Shah is a close relative of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Naveed Qamar and had also served as acting chief for nine months during the PPP government’s tenure.

Other potential candidate for the slot was Deputy Managing Director Finance Yaqoob Suttar. He was promoted by Haq from the post of senior general manager to deputy managing director.

According to officials, due to mismanagement of finances, PSO does not have enough money to pay to suppliers and vendors. Suttar had expected a bailout package of Rs60 billion from the government, but the Economic Coordination Committee approved the release of only Rs10 billion.

The government had put Suttar on the Exit Control List a few years ago, but still he has control over all financial matters of PSO. Critical departments like human resources, procurement, finance and IT have been reporting to him for a long time.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2018.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.