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'Law to ensure privatisation

sanctity being drafted'

ISLAMABAD: A comprehensive law on privatisation is being drafted to secure sanctity of the transaction, besides ensuring that the sale proceeds are exclusively used for debt-servicing.

"The law will be to ensure the sanctity of the transaction which has taken place as a result of a total transparent and due process," Privatisation Commission (PC) Chairman Altaf Saleem said while talking to APP here.

Moreover, the PC Chairman said, "We are also incorporating in the law the provision which ensures that the sale proceeds are only used for the debt-servicing.

The framing of law on privatisation was also one of the main points taken during the meetings of the Cabinet and the National Security Council, he said. "It is the intention of the government to come up with such a law."

"What foreign investors want is a sanctity of the transaction," he said adding, "the investors desire that once the deal is made, which has gone through all the scrutiny it is not un-necessarily re-opened."

Responding to a question, he said the law is being drafted in light of the experience of the past nine years in the process of privatisation in the country, besides public perceptions about the transparency.

"We have listed down the problems we faced during the last nine years, and also took guidance from the perceptions of the public to make it transparent," the Chairman said.

Saleem said, "We have discussed all these collection with lawyers and asked to frame a law keeping in view all the requirements."

The law, he said, would take at least a month to be drafted which after being studied by the Privatisation Commission, will be sent to the ministry for vetting.

The PC Chairman denied a news item that special tribunals are to be set up to hear privatisation cases. "There is no such proposal," he added.

To a question, the chairman said, "The privatisation plan is almost in final stages and will be ready by the end of the current month to be presented to the government for approval.ÑAPP