Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has opposed the legislation approved by the federal government for the sale of national assets in an effort to alleviate the economic crisis faced by the country.
A day after the cabinet approved the ordinance, PTI Chairman Imran Khan stated on Twitter that “thieves” should not be permitted to sell the assets.
He said, “How can imported government brought to power through US conspiracy, led by ‘crime minister’ whose family along with Zardari have volumes written on their corruption, be trusted with the sale of national assets and that too by bypassing all procedural and legal checks” .
He further said that these individuals had been ‘looting’ Pakistan for the past three decades were responsible for the current economic collapse.
The PTI chairman further stated that the “thieves” should not be allowed to sell the national assets in the cunning way they were attempting.
According to the documents, the proposed law will provide a system for carrying out a business transaction within an intergovernmental framework agreement in order to promote, draw, and encourage foreign nations to have economic and business links with Pakistan.
The law will cover all “commercial transactions,” such as sales, purchases, investments, divestitures, procurements, licensing, leases, joint ventures, concessions, assignments, and other agreements resulting from G2G (government-to-government) or commercial agreements.
The sale of assets and stock of state-owned corporations to foreign nations will not be subject to court review under the ordinance.
According to a government source, the assertion made by Imran Khan that the proposed law would enable the government to sell any asset of the nation without adhering to the established protocol will not be supported and the proposed law will be presented to parliament for approval. No asset will be sold without the cabinet’s consent.
In support of the proposed legislation, the source claimed that aside from one agreement, none of Pakistan’s agreements with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, or Qatar have come to fruition over the past five years because foreign governments were unwilling to invest through the Privatization Commission.
Foreign states will be permitted to invest directly in state-owned companies under the proposed law. This will enhance management of these businesses as the aforementioned states would bring effective management to handle these enterprises.
