The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) is all set to release Rs1.27 billion to the private sector on pending claims allegedly against unverified and scanned documents, sources told Business Recorder.
The sources said the plan was tailored by some officials close to Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim and the CEO of TDAP who wanted to execute the plan before the incumbent government completes its term by March 16.
According to sources, claims of those parties will be cleared who already have an "understanding" with the powerful team.
These claims, however, cannot be paid to parties concerned without the formal approval of the Secretary TDAP. Documents have also not been verified by the Commercial Counsellors concerned.
The amount will be released under the heads of Research and Development, retail outlets and warehouses from Export Development Fund (EDF).
When this correspondent contacted a Commerce Ministry official for verifying if this plan existed, he said that the Ministry had nothing to do with the "scandalous release".
According to him, the Commerce Ministry had prepared two lists in January this year and these claims were not part of these payments.
This correspondent also approached Daudpoto, a senior officials of TDAP in Karachi for comments, who confirmed that a list had been prepared to pay claims submitted under the initiative announced in the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2009-12. However, the parties were not paid because the Finance Ministry did not release the amount it had previously pledged to pay.
The official concerned did not give any details in this regard, insisting that he was ill and could provide the exact number of claims on Monday. The CEO of TDAP was not available for comments.
The sources said that the Commerce Ministry had sent a number of letters to the Finance Ministry for timely release of the amount without any success. The sources stated that officials of different attached departments of Commerce Ministry complained that they were under pressure from the Commerce Minister for illegal action because of which many were trying to stay away from their offices as much as possible to avoid facing criminal charges later on.
The Commerce Ministry''s spokesperson was also not available for comments.