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ISLAMABAD: Controversy over a multi-million-dollar defence deal is far from being resolved even though the matter has come up before members of the Public Accounts Committee for discussion twice.
The row persists largely because the principal accounting officer of defence production ministry has been unable to satisfy audit officials.
At a recent meeting the PAC members, after listening to arguments by Defence Production Secretary Lt-Gen (retd) Israr Ahmad Ghumman and audit officials for nearly an hour, asked the two sides to sit together at the departmental level to recheck the facts and then come to the PAC for a decision. Interestingly, both sides differed on basic facts of the deal.
According to audit officials, the ministry had placed an order worth $5.533 million for the purchase of 174 automatic transmission control systems (ATCSs) from a Ukrainian firm without their testing. The devices later failed the tests after being installed in some Al-Khalid tanks.
As a result, the ministry cancelled the deal and in place of ATCSs procured 90 manual kits for tanks.
The contract was signed on Dec 20, 2004 between the Heavy Industries complex Taxila and the Progress of Ukraine. As per the deal Pakistan paid $1.44 million which is 20 per cent of the $5.533 million.
Gen Ghumman, who was chairman of the HIT when the deal was made, said initial tests were conducted in the presence of Ukrainian and Pakistani experts before placing the order for ATCSs.
He said because of the delay in the arrival of the ATCSs, the-then army chief decided to go ahead with the procurement of manual kits. Hence the first contract was cancelled.
Audit officials said the ATCSs were not even used by Ukraine and it was strange that the order had been placed at all.
Audit officials also raised the issue of late delivery of the first batch of five ATCSs after which the deal was cancelled for which the company was liable to pay $15,000 but that was not done.
The consignment of five ATCSs which was required to be delivered by March 5, 2005 was delivered on Sept 7.
The ministry officials said they had settled the accounts in their favour with the Ukrainian firm.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Row over defence deal refuses to go away
The row persists largely because the principal accounting officer of defence production ministry has been unable to satisfy audit officials.
At a recent meeting the PAC members, after listening to arguments by Defence Production Secretary Lt-Gen (retd) Israr Ahmad Ghumman and audit officials for nearly an hour, asked the two sides to sit together at the departmental level to recheck the facts and then come to the PAC for a decision. Interestingly, both sides differed on basic facts of the deal.
According to audit officials, the ministry had placed an order worth $5.533 million for the purchase of 174 automatic transmission control systems (ATCSs) from a Ukrainian firm without their testing. The devices later failed the tests after being installed in some Al-Khalid tanks.
As a result, the ministry cancelled the deal and in place of ATCSs procured 90 manual kits for tanks.
The contract was signed on Dec 20, 2004 between the Heavy Industries complex Taxila and the Progress of Ukraine. As per the deal Pakistan paid $1.44 million which is 20 per cent of the $5.533 million.
Gen Ghumman, who was chairman of the HIT when the deal was made, said initial tests were conducted in the presence of Ukrainian and Pakistani experts before placing the order for ATCSs.
He said because of the delay in the arrival of the ATCSs, the-then army chief decided to go ahead with the procurement of manual kits. Hence the first contract was cancelled.
Audit officials said the ATCSs were not even used by Ukraine and it was strange that the order had been placed at all.
Audit officials also raised the issue of late delivery of the first batch of five ATCSs after which the deal was cancelled for which the company was liable to pay $15,000 but that was not done.
The consignment of five ATCSs which was required to be delivered by March 5, 2005 was delivered on Sept 7.
The ministry officials said they had settled the accounts in their favour with the Ukrainian firm.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Row over defence deal refuses to go away
