 | Islamabad property: EOBI strikes a dubious deal with private party
28 August 2012
|
| 
ISLAMABAD:
The Employees Oldage Benefit Institution (EOBI) has struck a dubious deal for the purchase of property in Islamabad at the exorbitant price of Rs1.02 billion – almost 100% more than its market price.
Sources told the Express Investigation Cell (EIC) that the EOBI struck the deal for the Crown Plaza in F-7 Markaz with one Abdul Qayyum.
The Crown Plaza deal speaks volumes for wrongdoings within the EOBI, an organisation meant to manage workers’ fund, which has earned a reputation of making questionable deals with private parties.
The entire process of the deal was done without lawful authority, as it was not presented to the Board of Trustees (BoT) for approval. According to rules, it is mandatory for the EOBI to seek approval from the board for any deals involving billions of rupees of workers’ fund. However, the institution’s management avoids facing the BoT in most property deals for which it thinks the outcome could be adverse.
Furthermore, signatories of the deal happen to be unauthorised employees of the EOBI – Syed Iqbal Haider Zaidi could be quoted for a ready reference. Zaidi is neither an investment committee member nor a competent authority for inking such agreements.
Secondly, all three witness signatories in the deal are EOBI employees, raising serious legal questions, such as why no one witnessed the deal agreement from the seller’s side.
Oddly enough, the size of the plot has been excluded from the deal agreement so that no one could raise questions over its total size.
Independent analysts say the value of the Crown Plaza stands between Rs550 million to Rs 600 million. A loss of Rs600 million will be caused to the national exchequer with this single purchase.
When contacted, EOBI chairman Zafar Iqbal Gondal refused to comment on the Crown Plaza deal, saying simply, “I do not want to comment on the issue as the media is intentionally misleading everyone on EOBI investment issues.”
Gondal also refused to respond to different key questions raised by the EIC, such as why the EOBI failed to seek the approval of BoT before sealing the Crown Plaza deal with a private party; and who evaluated the property of the Crown Plaza to set its price at Rs1.02 billion. | | See Also in Political News
|
|  Malala denounces 'cowardly' attack on students
18 June 2013
LONDON: Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education, on Monday denounced an attack on a bus carrying female students in Quetta as "cowardly".
At least 25 people were killed on Saturday when militants blew up the bus in the capital of restive Baluchistan province and then stormed a hospital where survivors had been taken for treatment.
"This was a cowardly and desperate attempt to deny girls their right to education," Malala, 15, said in a ... Full Story |  OGRA scandal: NAB grills Qamar, issues final notice to Badar’s son
18 June 2013
LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned former federal minister Syed Naveed Qamar for interrogation, and issued a final notice to Ali Badar, son of Pakistan People’s Party leader Jehangir Badar, in connection with the multi-billion-rupee Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) corruption case on Monday, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Former minister for petroleum and natural resources Syed Naveed Qamar was called by NAB under Sections 19 and 27 of National Accountability ... Full Story |  Ziarat attack: BNP-M, JUI-F hit out at Akram Shah’s statement
18 June 2013
ISLAMABAD: Condemning the destruction of Jinnah’s Residency in Ziarat, the Balochistan National Party – Mengal (BNP-M) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) criticised a key coalition partner in Balochistan for ‘implicitly’ supporting an act of terrorism.
“Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) has expressed their age old grudge against the founder of the nation,” said JUI-F spokesman Jan Achakzai.
Voicing a similar opinion, BNP-M’s Vice President Sajid Tareen said they condemn the attack on ... Full Story | |
|
|
|
