SC seeks response from govt on Pakistan Steel Mills privitisation

CJP orders government to lay off all employees, and appoint new people if it wants to keep PSM running

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday demanded a response from the federal government on the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).

A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the case, pertaining to the privatisation of PSM.

The chief justice said the mills have been closed since 2015 and the employees are still receiving their salaries, adding that the government is paying billions annually.

The Supreme Court ordered the secretary of Ministry of Industries to look into the matter immediately.

CJP Gulzar further ordered the government to lay off all employees, and appoint new people if it wants to keep PSM running.

"It seems the entire national budget has been spent on it," he added.

PTI govt excludes PSM from CPEC framework

Earlier this year, the government decided not to include Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework, reversing its earlier decision to offer the country’s largest industrial unit, which has remained closed for almost five years, exclusively to Chinese investors.

The decision to sell PSM through international competitive bidding was taken at the prime minister’s level a few weeks ago, sources in the Ministry of Industries told The Express Tribune.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, Commerce and Industries Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, Planning Minister Asad Umar and Privatisation Minister Mohammad Mian Soomro were in favour of including PSM in the CPEC framework, the sources said.

However, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and some other officials wanted that PSM should be privatised through open competition among all investors, they added.