ISLAMABAD: A high court in the United Kingdom has ordered that $28.7 million be debited from the accounts of the Pakistan High Commission in London over non-payment of a penalty by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to a foreign firm, Pakistani media reported on Friday.
Broadsheet LLC, a US-based assets recovery firm, was used during the tenure of military ruler General Pervez Musharraf to help the then-government and newly established NAB track foreign assets purchased through illegal money.
Last year, the company filed a claim with the London High Court to enforce the payment of the outstanding $22 million owed to the firm by NAB. Broadsheet had also asked that an interest of $4,758 per day be applied, Dawn newspaper reported.
The deadline for the payment of the penalty owed to the firm was December 31.
An English court in December 2018 issued an order for payment of $22 million to Broadsheet by the government of Pakistan. In July this year, the government unsuccessfully appealed the arbitration.
The arbitrator found that Pakistan and NAB had wrongfully repudiated an asset recovery agreement with Broadsheet and ruled that the company was entitled to damages, Dawn said.
UK court orders Pakistani High Commission to pay $28.7 mln owed by accountability bureau
https://arab.news/rfk9b
UK court orders Pakistani High Commission to pay $28.7 mln owed by accountability bureau
- The row is over non-payment of a penalty by the National Accountability Bureau to a foreign assets recovery firm
- Broadsheet LLC was used during tenure of military ruler Musharraf to help NAB track foreign assets purchased through illegal means
EU, Pakistan sign €60 million loan agreement for clean drinking water in Karachi
- Project will finance rehabilitation, construction of water treatment facilities in Karachi city, says European Investment Bank
- As per a report in 2023, 90 percent of water samples collected from various places in city was deemed unfit for drinking
ISLAMABAD: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pakistan’s government on Wednesday signed a €60 million loan agreement, the first between the two sides in a decade, to support the delivery of clean drinking water in Karachi, the EU said in a statement.
The Karachi Water Infrastructure Framework, approved in August this year by the EIB, will finance the rehabilitation and construction of water treatment facilities in Pakistan’s most populous city of Karachi to increase safe water supply and improve water security.
The agreement was signed between the two sides at the sidelines of the 15th Pak-EU Joint Commission in Brussels, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“Today, the @EIB signed its first loan agreement with Pakistan in a decade: a €60 million loan supporting the delivery of clean drinking water for #Karachi,” the EU said on social media platform X.
Radio Pakistan said the agreement reflects Pakistan’s commitment to modernize essential urban services and promote climate-resilient infrastructure.
“The declaration demonstrates the continued momentum in Pakistan-EU cooperation and highlights shared priorities in sustainable development, public service delivery, and climate and environmental resilience,” it said.
Karachi has a chronic clean drinking water problem. As per a Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) study conducted in 2023, 90 percent of water from samples collected from various places in the city was deemed unsafe for drinking purposes, contaminated with E. coli, coliform bacteria, and other harmful pathogens.
The problem has forced most residents of the city to get their water through drilled motor-operated wells (known as ‘bores’), even as groundwater in the coastal city tends to be salty and unfit for human consumption.
Other options for residents include either buying unfiltered water from private water tanker operators, who fill up at a network of legal and illegal water hydrants across the city, or buying it from reverse osmosis plants that they visit to fill up bottles or have delivered to their homes.
The EU provides Pakistan about €100 million annually in grants for development and cooperation. This includes efforts to achieve green inclusive growth, increase education and employment skills, promote good governance, human rights, rule of law and ensure sustainable management of natural resources.
