Shehbaz says Pakistan receiving foreign aid due to COAS

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on Monday asked about the reason behind awarding Mohmand Dam contract after first bidding. Addressing to the National Assembly, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) president raised questions over transparency in bidding of Mohmand Dam. Shehbaz Sharif demanded re-bidding of Rs309 billion Mohmand Dam in light of its controversial allotment to the joint venture of Descon owned by Adviser to PM on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood and Chinese company, China Gezhouba. Shahbaz Sharif criticized the consideration of a single bid by PTI government of Mohmand Dam project. He said the decision reflects conflict of interest, where the other parties were not given equal opportunities. He said when the government of PML-N started its tenure in 2013, the country was in the grip of darkness due to long hours of load-shedding. The then government while starting and awarding projects, thoroughly followed Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules. Shahbaz Sharif demanded to take the issue at the floor of the assembly and refer it to the House Committee. Criticizing the PTI government, the opposition leader expressed concerns on financial transparency of the project. “Mohmand Dam is very important, there has been a lot of discussion in this regard, he mentioned. Shehbaz reaffirmed that the Mohmand Dam is not against PEPRA rules, adding that the contract was awarded in first bid, while the other company had not been awarded contract on technical ground. “This is government’s incompetence that it’s providing expensive electricity from furnace oil, while the government is not running gas power plants with 100 per cent productivity,” he said. He warned that the energy crisis is once again hitting the nation. The PML-N president termed that the government is receiving financial aid from foreign countries due to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa not of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He also thanked the friendly countries for providing loans, saying that they supported Pakistan during tough time.