4 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Probe into power projects: Senate panel for action against PD for providing ‘misleading' info
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs has recommended the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) taking action against the Power Division for allegedly providing misleading information during an inquiry initiated by the former caretaker Federal Minister for Energy.
The inquiry pertains to the ACSR Bunting Conductor tender and the World Bank-funded 765kV Dasu-Islamabad Transmis-sion Line Project (Lot-1).
According to official documents, Additional Secretary Power Division, Imtiaz Hussain Shah, informed the Committee on June 30, 2025, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had confirmed no Power of Attorney (PoA) related to Chinese firms M/s Henan Tong-DA Cable Co. Ltd. or M/s Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology Co. Ltd. was submitted to the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing for verification. The Embassy also clarified that since Pakistan joined the Apostille Convention in November 2024, such attestations are no longer required through diplomatic channels.
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The Committee, chaired by Senator Saif Ullah Abro, directed the EAD and Power Division to directly contact the companies involved to determine whether they had ever submitted such documents.
In its session, the Committee was also briefed on the submission of records for a special audit into the ACSR Bunting Conductor case. These were handed over to the Auditor General's office on June 4, 2025.
Regarding the high-voltage Dasu–Islamabad Transmis-sion Line (Lot-1), the Power Division shared that the internal inquiry led by GM NGC Muhammad Mustafa had recommended referring the matter to the World Bank. The Bank, in response, confirmed that the procurement process was conducted in line with its guidelines.
However, the Committee expressed concern over a potential cover-up. Officials from the Power Division failed to present the supplementary report that supposedly formed the basis for communication with the World Bank. Instead, they showed only a letter written by a former senior official, which the Committee suspects was intended to conceal irregularities. The panel demanded all correspondence relating to that letter and clarified that under World Bank procurement regulations, the borrower (in this case, Pakistan) holds full responsibility for the procurement process.
The Committee was told that no formal inquiry report was ever prepared or submitted by former caretaker Energy Minister Muhammad Ali, despite his active role as head of an internal investigation committee. Power Division officials stated they had only heard about an unsigned report, which was never officially shared.
The Committee was visibly shocked and questioned how the former Minister was able to present conclusions at a Senate Standing Committee meeting on February 20, 2024, without a documented report. It directed the Power Division to locate and submit even an unsigned copy of the inquiry findings and recommended that EAD take disciplinary action against the Power Division for providing misleading information in this matter.
The Committee further advised EAD to seek clarification on how both the former caretaker Minister and the then Secretary of the Power Division—members of the inquiry committee—could act with such negligence, allegedly concealing facts about financial and procedural irregularities in key power sector tenders.
On the issue of recovering Rs 1.282 billion from a contractor involved in the 765kV Dasu–Islamabad Grid Station (Lot-IV), the Committee clarified that the NTDC Board was not authorized to conduct an independent inquiry. It recalled earlier discussions confirming that the disputed amount was not to be considered in the bid evaluation, per the bidding documents.
The Committee instructed EAD to formally write to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to ensure recovery of the Rs 1.282 billion from the lowest bidder in line with earlier recommendations.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
