‘Fuelling economy’ through shredded currency notes

Mohammad Saleem 

FAISALABAD: Currency notes put to shredder by the State Bank of Pakistan are being used in factories to ignite fire at boilers in the absence of alternative means of energy.

Earlier, notes were being burnt by the SBP, however, the government had banned the practice because of environmental hazards.

The banknotes auctioned by the SBP are of Rs10 to Rs5,000 denominations of even serial issued in 2010.

A factory worker, Tariq Mehmood, said his employers were fed up with spending extra money on the corncob and wood to energise the boilers.

“Searching for the corncob and wood is a daunting task, because of this we have purchased currency notes,” he added.

According to Mehmood, currency notes catch fire instantly as compared to corncob, wood, paper and other means. “However, we are facing breathing problems as its ash emits a pungent smell,” he said.

“We don’t know how and from where our employer has purchased all notes,” Mehmood said, adding a vehicle loaded with a number of sacks carrying shredded currency notes had been sent here.

He said the owner still had hundreds of kilograms of such notes to be used in coming days.

Recycling or reutilisation of such currency notes was not possible that’s why the bank was selling them, he argued.

An officer of the SBP told Dawn requesting anonymity that the bank used to burn the waste of currency notes with its internal arrangements in the past. The bank had to stop the practice because smoke and ash had been polluting the city environment.

“Now the bank is auctioning the waste of currency notes and millers are purchasing it because paper of the notes catches fire immediately.

“It is worrisome if notes are being burnt in factories of city areas,” the officer said.

He said bank had been auctioning the worn-out currency notes.

This reporter saw a number of fresh notes of even 2010 serial which were also auctioned by the SBP.

When contacted, SBP currency department representative in Faisalabad, Quratul Ain, declined to comment saying it was a confidential issue.

Industrialists have been trying to find cheap methods to keep their machinery active as gas supply to the industry has been suspended a couple of days ago. And they have found an alternative source of energy in shredded notes.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2015

Import duty on Indian yarn opposed

By Mohammad Saleem

FAISALABAD: Value-added textile exporters are strongly opposing the proposal of 15 per cent duty on Indian yarn, saying the imported yarn is cheaper and allows them to be competitive with regional business rivals.

“Why are spinners demanding 15pc duty on Indian yarn now? We are still working in the free trade zone. In reality, the spindles have increased in the country and China has stopped importing yarn from Pakistan,” claimed Council of Loom Owners Chairman Waheed Khalid Ramay.

He said that in 2010-11, spinners exported billions of rupees worth yarn to China ignoring the local value-added and weaving sector.

“Owing to unbridled export to China, exporters and weaving unit owners had faced numerous problems and purchased yarn on exorbitant rates,” he added.

He said during peak exports to China, Pakistan’s value-added sector suffered immensely as the price of 40-single yarn had surged to Rs17,500. “However, now its price has come down to Rs13,000 per bag,” he added.

“Spinners are pushing for duty on Indian yarn. This would be against the spirit of free trade and also the interests of the value-added sector,” he said.

Talking to Dawn, Textile Minister Abbas Afridi said that it would be unwise to impose duty on Indian yarn without considering what kind of yarn is being sent to Pakistan.

“India is also exporting the kind of yarn to Pakistan which is not being spun by our factories,” he added.

Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association (PYMA) claims the quantity of Indian yarn dumping in Pakistan is increasing.

PYMA Central Chairman Qaisar Shamas said that in 2012, cotton yarn imported from India was 6,500 tonnes, surged to 30,000 tonnes in 2013 and now is touching about 36,000 tonnes.

Chairman Pakistan Apparel Forum, Muhammad Javed Bilwani told Dawn that they were not in favour of any duty on Indian yarn dumping.

He said the value-added sector had major share in the entire textile chain, however, only 30 spinning mills were raising hue and cry citing losses.

Faiq Jawed, a spinner and executive member of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, said government had been providing nothing to the spinning sector which is battling the energy crisis.

On the contrary, he said, the Indian government had been facilitating its entrepreneurs and earmarked Rs 42 billion for the yarn exporters to hit the Pakistani market.

He urged the government to devise a strategy focusing on the status of yarn production and its consumption.

Rs 762 million tax fraud, spinners sold yarn to inoperative firm

By Mohammad Saleem

FAISALABAD: Spinning mills agents had sold yarn to an ‘inoperative’ firm and received payments through accounts being operated by an individual having no connection with the company.

Rehman Textile, a registered firm, had been inoperative since 2009.

This was detected during the investigation of tax fraud under way at the Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation of FBR.

Sources privy to the development told Dawn that probably with the help of some FBR employees, the suspects had managed to check the data of closed mills. Sifting through the documents, they had found Rehman Textile Mills which had been closed in 2009.

They said Rehman Textile situated at Chak 296-RB near bypass on Samundri Road had been registered on Aug 3, 2004 in the name of Habib Ahmed and Mohammad Munir.

The mills had sales tax no. 0802520501355 with 2105056-2 NTN. The last business deal by the Rehman Textile had been done on May 14, 2009 and till Nov 1, 2012 its account remained inactive.

Sources said the suspects had obtained the entire data of the mills and then used Naved Iqbal (CNIC 41504-0428170-7) and NTN-4029800-7 for transactions.

They succeeded in getting the account title as Rehman Textile in three branches of two private banks situated at Samanabad, Razabad and Kharkhana Bazaar.

The ‘swindlers’ used the account for the first time on Nov 21, 2012 and a sale of Rs23.68 million had been found in the account and the same account remained active till Feb 22, 2013 with sales of Rs 29.7 million, Rs64.8 million and Rs 111 million. Since March 30, 2013 to Nov 1, 2013, the account had not been used for any sale. And finally the ‘fraudulent’ account having transaction of Rs762.6 million had been detected in July 2014, they added.

An official said real owners of the Rehman mills were working as employees somewhere else. He said both had also been interrogated thoroughly who said they had closed the mills owing to financial constraints and failed to report to the FBR.

He said three prime suspects in the fraud had been identified during the investigation who had been using Naveed Iqbal, a man arrested by the FBR, as a puppet.

The FBR has named 51 spinning units of different areas as alleged beneficiaries of the fraud.

However, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association has again denied the involvement of any of its members in the fraud and said they had sold yarn lawfully and deposited the required sales tax amount with the national kitty.

An official of the FBR requesting anonymity told Dawn that instead of cooperating with the government, some of the millers had started raising a hue and cry only to hush up the issue.

He said the FBR had sent letters to the mills in which the alleged embezzled amount was mentioned and mills were categorically asked to clear their position on the issue.

He said almost 90 per cent of mills had replied to the letters and more than one dozen had also deposited the ‘misappropriated’ amount. Some of the APTMA members were also among the millers who deposited the amount, however, the official refused to name them.

“We have not arrested or disclosed the name of any mills prior to obtaining tangible evidence. Transactions of three banks are enough to prove the fraud,” he claimed.

He said prior to arresting any suspect, each and every mill was given the opportunity to clear its positions.

Another FBR officer said the millers during a meeting stressed for better facilities with easy way of tax collection. He said how FBR officials would be able to facilitate them and make refund payments to them when ‘fraudulent elements’ would not be fixed.

He said the mills named in the tax fraud case must initiate a probe to check how their sale department officials had been receiving payments from an individual.

JIT probes only one case out of five

Mohammad Saleem 

FAISALABAD: A five-member Joint Investigation Team comprising police officers was formed to probe five cases registered in connection with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf protest in Faisalabad on Dec 8, however, it investigated one case in which three parliamentarians, DCO and others were named.

Prominent suspects in the case (830/14) registered with the Samanabad police under sections 109, 148, 149 and 302 of PPC and 7-ATA are State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali, former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah, MPA Tahir Jameel, DCO Noorul Amen Mengal and Sheharyar, son-in-law of Rana Sana.

They all have been absolved of abetting the crime while Section 109 of the PPC has also been deleted from the FIR.

The case had been registered on the application of Atta, brother of PTI activist Haq Nawaz, who was gunned down on Dec 8 last, on Novelty Bridge during a protest demonstration against the PML-N.

Regional Police Officer Ahsan Tufail had sent a letter (6496) to the Punjab Home Department on Dec 13 last for formation of the JIT. He categorically mentioned in the letter number and sections of cases to be interrogated by the JIT.

The cases mentioned by the RPO for investigation by JIT included; FIRs 829 and 830 registered with Samanabad police, 793 with Factory Area police, 824 with D-Type Colony and 1278 filed with Sargodha Road police.

FIRs 829 and 830 are of the same incident in which instead of the PML-N people, the PTI activists had been nominated.

The Punjab government had formed the JIT comprising SSP (investigation) Bilal Umer (convener), DSP Nishatabad Ahmed Shah, inspectors Yasir Jutt, Nasrullah and Abdul Majeed.

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‘Disjointed’ report on PTI rally absolves the big guns of firing incident

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Instead of probing all cases given by the RPO, the JIT head had focussed on the investigation of FIR 830 and skipped all others.

Two cases (829 of Samanabad police and 1278 of Sargodha Road police), have been skipped by the SSP in writing.

Instead of probing the issue in details, the JIT relied on the statements of the politicians and others and obtained their cell call data to conclude the investigation.

Submitting his statement, Rana Sana said the applicant of the case had narrated a concocted story at the behest of local PTI leadership only to damage him politically.

State Minister Abid Sher Ali and MPA Tahir Jamil had submitted identical statements and said the information provided for registration of the FIR was false, incorrect and fabricated with mala fide intent to implicate them.

Both have prayed for cancellation of the FIR.

The DCO said he had been serving in the district since Oct 30, 2013, and a number of political and religious parties had staged protest demonstrations and gatherings here. The district government had made arrangements for lighting, health, ambulances and drinking water.

In response to protest call by the PTI on Dec 8 last, he said: “I had tried to meet local leaders of the party on Dec 3 and 4, but could not meet them.”

The administration in the presence of police and PTI leadership had convened three meetings on as many consecutive days--Dec 5 to Dec 7. The PTI leaders assured that their protest would remain peaceful, he claimed.

Under Police Order 2002, maintaining law and order and protection of masses is the responsibility of the police under the leadership of the city police officer. Hence, he said being head of the civil administration he had no role in interfering in police affairs.

“I had not asked anyone that police would not take any action in case of any accident and I myself would intervene. I had no connection with the incident,” the DCO said

The district administration had deployed its officials along with the police, health department, Rescue 1122 and civil defence at nine points selected by the PTI for staging protest demonstrations, he said.

The DCO provided the JIT a copy of a duty roaster featuring names of officers, their deployment points to avoid any untoward incident and safeguard life and property of the public.

They all categorically denied holding any meeting at the outhouse of Rana Sana.

Ilyas alias Toti, guard of Pervez Jutt, has been charged with murder of Nawaz, the JIT says in its report.

On the other hand, PTI had not joined the JIT proceedings on the plea that three out of its five members were close associates of Rana Sana.

Ignoring the PTI reservations, the JIT continued with its interrogation and also did not make Atta’s application part of the findings.

PTI District President Rana Raheel said JIT had done nothing except to protect the suspects. He said Pervez Jutt, a suspect in the case who had brought armed people to the Novelty Bridge and killed Haq Nawaz, had confessed before the JIT that a meeting of traders and workers of PP-70 was held at the Circuit House on Dec 7.

Raheel said confession before the police under the ATA was admissible, however, police did not make a memorandum on the confession of Pervez only to favour Rana Sana.

He said the team had not touched four other cases because all were registered against the PTI workers. “Now the JIT has started asking the PTI leaders to produce their workers named in such cases.”

Published in Dawn February 7th , 2015