President's 'associate' out to ruin PSO

ISLAMABAD While President Asif Ali Zardari is already pushed to face the pending court cases against him, dubious characters are at large to exploit relations with him as well as key cabinet members to ruin the state entities.
According to well-placed sources, a mega scam in the Pakistan State Oil was brewing to upset the financial status of the state-owned sole custodian of Pakistans strategic oil reserves. The sources informed TheNation that Irfan Puri, who proclaims publicly that he is the business partner of the President, is using his influence to remove the top management of the PSO which is blocking his dubious deals as a local agent of international fuel suppliers.
The sources providing documentary evidences to TheNation revealed that Puri, who paid National Accountability Bureau Rs. 300 million as plea bargain, had been misusing his connections with Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Petroleum Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, and former Advisor to the PM on Petroleum Dr. Asim Hussain in addition to the President.
Malik when contacted by TheNation denied any business connection with Mr. Puri. However, he admitted that that he knew Puri. None else but Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto once introduced me to Irfan Puri as a travel agent, but I never dealt with him even for my travels. When this scribe drew Maliks attention towards the fact that Puri was in oil business now, he said, You are right, he is doing oil business now but at that time he was a travel agent.
Despite frequent efforts, Naveed Qamar was not available for comments, perhaps due to his preoccupation with hectic political activity on the issue of NRO.
Besides publicly proclaiming business partnership with the President for setting up an oil refinery, Puri has also defrauded the PSO by supplying oil without providing mandatory documents of origin, the sources informed. According to the sources, no certificate of origin was provided when M.T. Difo Chaser, a motor gasoline cargo, came to Pakistan. It arrived in Pakistan on January 25, 2009, was on berth for being discharged on January 27, 2009, and sailed from Pakistan on January 28. The PSO was not having any copy of certificate of origin of this cargo, as Mr. Puri never provided it. Then why his shipment was cleared is a million dollar question?
Initially, the sources informed that Mr. Puri made his comeback to the oil business after being black listed by the PSO. He used his linkages both in the Interior Ministry and the Presidency for the purpose. According to the sources, the FAL had denied agency to Puri in the first place. Eventually, FALs former agent Shakeel Haroon Rehmane was picked up by police as well as law enforcement staff from Karachi on February 17, 2009 and was kept in confinement without any charge. Later on Rehmane lodged a complaint in the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), Karachi, the copy of the complaint is available with TheNation.
The sources claimed that afterwards Puri arranged a meeting of the FAL Chairman with President Zardari who told them to work with Puri if they wanted to do business in Pakistan. In this way Puri got back the agency of FAL.
Most recently in a tender called by the PSO for the supply of diesel (HSD), Vitol submitted the lowest price. However due to lack of demand in the country for diesel after the calling of the tender, PSOs import committee recommended to the management to cancel the tender as there was no point in importing product and holding stocks when the company was already facing huge financial costs and didnt have money to pay local refineries due to the circular debt issue. When Mr. Puri learnt that the tender was going to be scrapped, he asked the Petroleum Minister to summon the current Managing Director at the midnight and order him to award the tender to him despite a 34 percent cut in demand at that time.
Currently, the sources informed, Puri is seeking removal of PSOs incumbent General Manager Supplies Nazir Abbas Zaidi who is reportedly resisting his dubious deals and supplies.
President's 'associate' out to ruin PSO