CJP Gulzar Ahmed says he will order closure of Pakistan Steel Mills, firing of employees

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan on Thursday said that he will order the closure of the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) as well as the removal of its employees because the PSM "practically does not exist," Geo News reported.

The CJPs's remarks came during a hearing at the Supreme Court related to the promotion of PSM employees.

The CJP said that the Steel Mills' management is responsible for the plight of Pakistan's largest industrial complex, which has been non-functional for a long time.

"No wrongdoing could take place without the concurrence of the management. Did the government take action against the Pakistan Steel Mills' management?" the CJP remarked.

Censuring the management of Pakistan Steel Mills in strong words, Justice Gulzar said that if the mills are non-functional then there is no reason for the management to stay employed there.

"Since the mills are non-functional, there is no need for a managing director or chief executive to run it," the chief justice remarked. "PSM officers are a burden on the national exchequer. All the officers should be removed first before firing the employees."

He further said that the PSM has hired more staff than required even when there is no work for them to do.

Responding to the chief justice's remarks, PSM's lawyer said that the daily expenses of the mill have been reduced from Rs20 million to Rs10 million.

The Chief Justice replied: "From today onwards, no employee of the PSM will be paid as the mills are not generating any profit. Why should employees be paid for doing nothing?"

Justice Gulzar added that some PSM officers "did not work even for a day from the time of their recruitment until their retirement," adding that the PSM has incurred a debt of Rs212 billion and it has no means to pay it back.

The chief justice further remarked that "no federal secretary is working in the country and their jobs have been reduced to writing letters, which is the job description of clerks," the report said. 

"It is not clear why the government has employed secretaries when they do not have any work to do?" he questioned. "The country has been ruined and governmental secretaries are afraid that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will catch them."

The Chief Justice of Pakistan said that the remaining 3,700 employees of the steel mills will be dismissed today, adding that 390 out of 437 officers of the mill will also be removed from their services today.

"All employees and officers will be dismissed and the steel mill will be locked today because practically, the PSM does not exist," he said.