Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has appointed Major-General Zaheer Ahmad Khan (Retd) as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a financially-strapped Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM). Zaheer Khan will be the third General who has been given the task of reviving an ill-treated national asset prior to privatisation- a commitment made by the government with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Former Lieutenant General Abdul Qayyum''s performance is well regarded as during his tenure the PSM earned billions of rupees of profit. However, PSM fortunes nose-dived during the tenure of Major-General Muhammad Javed (Retd). Well-informed sources in the Ministry of Industries and Production told Business Recorder that both the former chiefs of PSM - Lieutenant General Qayyum and Major-General Muhammad Javed - failed to take action against the ''mafia'' comprising of officials, dealers, board members and suppliers, who collectively destroyed mills.
Major-General Zaheer Ahmad Khan, who hails from Gujar Khan and is a close relative of former Minister for Defence Production, Raja Shahid Zafar, retired from Pak Army Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME). He is 62 years old and has served as Chairman, State Engineering Corporation (SEC). Sources said, he applied for the position of CEO PSM and a committee interviewed him and a summary for his appointment was sent to the Prime Minister for approval. Analysts, however, claim that the appointment of the new PSM CEO is a clear violation of Memorandum of Article of Association and Supreme Court of Pakistan''s decision in case of reappointment of retired personnel.