Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Wednesday defended appointment of a dual national as chief operating officer (COO) of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), saying there is no bar in law on this.
During the question-hour in Senate, the MPs strongly objected to appointment of a dual nationality holder as COO who, according to them, has also been holding the charge of Managing Director OGDCL for the last 18 months. PPP Senator Sassui Palijo wondered how one can expect from him to safeguard the national interests when he is also a citizen of another country.
Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq of MQM asked why the post of the managing director /chief executive officer has been vacant for more than a year and why he was given the charge of managing director as well. He also asked if the chief operating officer had the powers to recruit people.
The minister insisted that there is no law in OGDCL that bars a dual national from being posted in Pakistan. He appreciated the chief operating officer for his work. He said that two to three persons were selected but they did not join OGDCL, as the post of MD was advertised twice. He added the process would also be initiated again shortly to fill the top post of the OGDCL.
Abbasi said that there is an elaborate process to make appointments and no one can be appointed directly. He said that matriculate people had been running OGDCL in the past.
Federal Minister of Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif told the House that India is constructing a number of run-of-river hydroelectric plants (HEPs) on the western rivers, mostly in violation of the design criteria specified by the Indus Water Treaty (IWT).
The minister said during the question hour that there is no other forum for dispute resolution of such projects other than the World Bank, which plays the role of facilitator only.
He noted that India has provided designs, under the provisions of the treaty, of four run-of-river hydroelectric plants; Ratle 850MW, Lower Kalnai 45MW, Miyar 100MW on the Chenab River and its tributaries, while Kishenganga HEP 330MW is located on a tributary of the Jhelum River called Kishenganga in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The minister continued that another dam Pakal Dul HEP 1000MW is a storage project with live storage of 89,000 acre-feet and it has also been proposed on a tributary of the Chenab River.
"Much higher than the permissible pondage, lower intakes and deep orifice spillways are the usual features of Indian designs and they provide India excessive control over the flow of waters, which is against the explicit provisions of the treaty," he said.
Asif maintained that the potential of using higher than the treaty permitted control is in India's advantage and it is a violation of the provisions of the treaty.
The government, he noted, is fully aware of the plan of Indian development on the waters of western rivers. In accordance with the provision of the treaty, step are being continually taken to check the features of all Indian projects, the information of which had been provided formally by India to Pakistan so as to see whether or not the design of such projects fall in accordance with the requirements of the treaty, he added.
The minister said that in all cases where the violations are being noticed, the issues are being taken up with India for amicable resolution at the level of Permanent Indus Commission (PIC). In case of no co-operation by India at PIC level, further steps such as the reference of the matter to both the governments, as provided for in the treaty, are being taken.
"In case of failure at the level of both the governments, the case, where needed, is referred to the World Bank for appointment of neutral experts or the Court of Arbitration as per the treaty," he explained.
Asif noted that the recent cases of Kishenganga HEP and Ratle HEP are such instances where the cases of technical objections on both of these projects are eventually being taken for the third-party arbitration. He claimed during the last three years, Pakistan had been able to get favourable decision from the Court of Arbitration in the case of Kishenganga HEP regarding the issues of drawdown below the dead storage level and that of the environmental flows. "This case was taken to the court in 2010 and final award was announced in December 2013. No resolution of any issue, however, has been bilaterally achieved," he said.
To another question by MQM Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq, the minister said that the feasibility studies of a total of eight run-of-river projects have been completed with a capacity of 2122.5MW. They are: Basho HPP study completed in 2012, Harpo HPP study completed in 2011, Phandar HPP study completed in 2003, Lower Palas Valley HPP study completed in 2010, Lower Spat Gah HPP study completed in 2010, while pre-feasibility study of Upper Palas Valley HPP, Middle Palas Valley HPP and Upper Spat Gah HPP were completed in 2008.
He said the National Water Policy (NWP) has been sent to the Minister of Inter-Provincial Co-ordination on January 13, 2017 for seeking approval of the Council of Common Interests and after its approval, the policy would be announced.
Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani said in response to a question by PTI's Muhammad Azam Swati that criminal action had been taken through NAB and FIA against contractors and officers who were found responsible for using substandard material and poor quality of work.
He explained in North Zone, Islamabad (NA-51) a NAB reference is under trial against Attiq-ur-Rehman (under suspension), Rafaqat Iqbal (under suspension) is facing a reference in NAB, M/S Gondal Const. and Co contractor is also facing reference in NAB.
In NA-60 (FIA cases), one construction company and eight officers are facing trial: they are MS Percon Associate, Shah Jehan EE (R), Abdul Sattar AEE (R), Javed Aftab Bhatti (DAO), Aurangzeb Khan, sub-engineer (now under suspension), Akhtar Munir SE, Muhammad Imran (under suspension), Arslan Adil Chaudhry (under suspension) and Naeem Noor.
Three references were filed in NAB: reference No 3/2015; the state vs Muhammad Asif and others, reference No 2/ 2016; the state vs Muhammad Asif and others; and reference No 11/2016; the state vs Muhammad Asif and others and trials are under way.
In Central Zone, Pak PWD, Lahore, construction of road and sewerage from Sharif Pura to main Lakho Dair, UC-49: charge-sheet served on Hamira Khurram Khan, Khurshid Ahmed Mirza, M Anwar, M/S Chaudhry Liaqat Ali, a government contractor.
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