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| Ex-chief of Steel Mills spills the beans |
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Sunday, May 25, 2008
News Desk
RAWALPINDI: Former chief of the Steel Mills Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum has advised President General Pervez Musharraf not to exercise his powers under Article 58-2(b) to dissolve parliament or change the Army leadership, adding it would plunge the country into serious crises that too would not augur well for him.
General Qayyum said the best choice for General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is to quit power as, in his view, he (president) did not enjoy the support of any faction of the society.
Qayyum, who served in the Pakistan Army for 40 years with Pervez Musharraf, was responding to questions by Dr Shahid Masood in the popular Geo programme “Meray Mutabiq”.
He disclosed that differences between General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry cropped up over the privatisation of the Steel Mills.
The ex-Steel Mills chief said when the case was being heard by a full court of the Supreme Court, President Musharraf called him (Justice Iftikhar) and asked as to what kind of remarks he (Musharraf) was hearing from him, adding the case should be decided in a manner that it does not cause any loss to the country. To this, Justice Iftikhar said, “You shouldn’t worry. I will decide the case in the best interest of the country.”
The next day when the Supreme Court judgment in the case came, it was totally against the expectations of the president. It was then that a row between the president and the then chief justice ensued.
General (retd) Abdul Qayyum said all the judges on the full court were very honest and competent. They thoroughly did their homework before presiding the court and would make queries to dig into the truth.
To a question, Qayyum said once the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz summoned him and asked him to record a statement in favour of privatisation of the Steel Mills before the Supreme Court. “In response we will accommodate you on a very lucrative post. I told him, Sir, by making me such an offer you have disgraced me,” General Qayyum said.
Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum further disclosed that once Shaukat Aziz called him on phone and asked him to engage Wasim Sajjad, Sharifuddin Pirzada and Abdul Hafiz Pirzada for the case. But I told him that I have engaged Kamal Azfar. They (Aziz) asked about the fee and I told him that he has engaged him for Rs 700,000 to which the then prime minister said that the Mills should pay Rs 6,200,000 to Wasim Sajjad, Rs 3,500,000 to Abdul Hafiz Pirzada and Sharifuddin Pirzada to be paid even above them.
The former chairman of the Steel Mills said he told Shaukat Aziz that the price of only land of the Steel Mills was Rs 40 billion whereas he was fixing the price of whole the project at Rs 21 billion. This is too low, he further informed the prime minister. He said the prime minister turned a deaf ear to his view and insisted to wrap up the deal before long.
Gen Qayyum said, “I then sent my written objections in a letter. He sent me an insulting answer saying that it falls under their purview.”
Gen Qayyum said painfully that he did not know the reserved price. Some people participating in the bidding did know it, he said.
Gen Qayyum expressed the view that Shaukat Aziz’s bad intention was involved in this matter and an FIR should be registered against him.
Replying to a question, Gen Qayyum said he had tried thrice to meet the president to discuss this matter but he was not granted time. “Then one day I received a phone call saying that I should consider myself out of the job.”
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