Normally, I would not like to take up guns with members of the journalistic community because I treasure them as friends, confidants, and good advisors. However, there comes a time when the sad step has to be taken, especially when one feels that there is prejudice and bias in the otherwise independent and courageous reporting. The case in point here is the nearly 24 month old campaign orchestrated and played single-handedly by the young, energetic, but (I feel) easily swayed Commerce Reporter, Faheem Basar. Unlike his paterfamilias, the respected columnist par excellence, Mr M. B. Naqvi, who wields an intelligent, informative, and most importantly, a balanced pen, the younger member of the family, in his exuberant desire to excel, has, somehow, refrained from emulating his illustrious father and is, instead brandishing the pen as a machete, presumably on the instructions and guidelines of vested interests out to protect their one and a half yards of mandir.

Faheem has been targeting my younger brother with a sadistic vengeance. My brother runs a shipping and a cargo handling organization. Najib Aziz Balagamwala is truly a epitome of a self-made man. Despite having been born with the proverbial spoon in the mouth, Najib who was an exceptional student both at St. Patrick’s High School and at Government College of Commerce and Economics where he topped the Inter-Commerce exams, got his higher schooling at University of California, Berkeley, where his name still shines brightly in the list of meritorious students there. On his return from America in the seventies, he spurned the offer of my father to join the family textile business and decided to work for a foreign consultancy firm. He then used his entrepreneurial skills and his forte to convince people and conjured up a very efficient group of established shipping agents and stevedores and got into this important field. I am proud to report that he did not request his family for a single paisa to start business but used his managerial acumen and financial expertise to obtain his share.

Gradually he became a force to reckon with among his peers and he was instrumental in procuring business for Port Qasim when no one dared to go there. His company also holds the world record for single discharge from a single vessel in 24 hours, a fact commemorated and acknowledged by the Port authorities. His excellent powers to strategically develop trading deals, his penchant for work, work, and work, and his total control of decision making abilities, all made him the enfant terrible to his detractors and those who could not keep pace with his desire to do wonders. Lo and behold, the vested interests wanted to gang up against him and were on the lookout for pliant pawns in this chessboard of conspiracy to derail this enterprising, albeit, unorganized brave man.

Faheem Basar, is one such pawn. In the March 26, 1996 issue of your esteemed newspaper he wrote an article, "PNSC sidelined in iron ore shipment contract" in which he erroneously laments that the country would lose Rs 50 million in precious greenbacks just because, according to his report, Pakistan’s national carrier has been sidelined by Paksteel in an iron ore / coal shipment of nearly two million tonnes. He argues that even though PNSC matched the lowest rates under the convoluted policy of "right of first refusal" enjoyed by PNSC, the Paksteel management disregarded this and offered it to a foreign firm Shinwa of Japan.

The truth of the matter is that three foreign companies came lowest. Shinwa was lowest for Hedland, Australia, while a Korean Group, Yukong was lowest from Septibay, Brazil and the Emirates Trading Agency of Dubai was lowest for Paradip and Goa. The comparative figures are :

Hedland 1,180,000 US$ 17.95 US$ 13.04 SHINWA

Septibay 230,000 US$ 29.95 US$ 22.69 YUKONG

Paradip 200,000 US$ 11.35 US$ 09.69 ETA

This shows that not only Shinwa but two other parties were lowest and these are large international owners of sailworthy vessels. It should be noted that Paksteel issued a press release that it saved Rs 380 million by not giving the contract to PNSC at last year’s rates. Moreover, this hogwash of saving in foreign exchange shows that Faheem has not done his homework. Even if PNSC gets the award, it is paid in foreign currency. All funds of Paksteel are paid to PNSC in crisp, genuine, American dollars. PNSC did get the order but at the more practical rates, saving Paksteel Rs 380 million big ones.

So, who and what is really behind this two year campaign of the naive reporter ? Why is he charting his course on a one-way street ? Why is he presenting one-sided news on the pretext of doing the country a favor by his so-called exposes ? The fact of the matter is that this reporter has ostensibly become a spokesman for an organization that is billing itself as the nation’s second carrier. As a matter of information, it is said that he spends more time in the Shahrah-e-Faisal offices of the carrier then he does at the newspaper’s office. This carrier is run by a person who every week comes into print with his own beggar bowl imploring the esteemed Prime Minister with his pleas for rebates, duty reductions, easy-term loans, and championing his own cause by using the umbrella of the Shipowner’s Association.

The true picture is that the head honcho of this baby carrier has used his influences with the hierarchy of PNSC and has entered into a clandestine agreement whereby, PNSC will farm out 50% of its business procured under the right of first refusal to its junior while the remaining 50% is tendered out to foreign lines. Just as an example, the rate differential in iron ore and wheat in the last two years has been in excess of US$ TWO MILLION which PNSC had handed over to the so-called second carrier ! The Chief of this second carrier tried his utmost to maintain these illegal profits and high rates and tried to convince Paksteel to extend the iron ore tender for 1996-97 at the old inflated rates. This would have been another windfall gain for him all at the expense of this nation which is highly strapped for foreign exchange.

The shipping circles all over the world has amazed at this right of first refusal syndrome which is detrimental to the country. Why should one company, especially in this high-flying and rapid business environment get this archaic and preferential treatment ? What is the use, then, of going thru the tender scenario if PNSC has to be given the first right of refusal ? Only one company, Panocean of Korea is in favor of PNSC getting the pie because it is in partnership with the junior carrier and they get their pound of flesh. Coincidentally, the highest management of Panocean was in Karachi lobbying desperately for this iron ore tender !

Coming back to the allegations raised by Faheem, if one accepts his theory that Najib is behind the Shinwa deal and also that he was the main man behind the wheat shipment tender too, then it seems that this young brother of mine deserves accolades. If Paksteel is saving 380 million because of the new rates, then the affable Chief of Paksteel is requested to host a grand dinner for Najib and invite the Prime Minister to grace the occasion. Moreover, President Leghari should confer the Hilal-e-Khidmat on my brother for saving the cash-strapped Paksteel over Rs 380 million in one day and in one deal ! This is something not even the mandarins of the Finance Ministry have ever done. Furthermore, Premier Bhutto should nominate Najib Balagamwala as her advisor on shipping because this one man knows and can do more than the cry-babies in the Shipowner’s Association who just want the moon for themselves and to hell with others.

Admiral Akber Khan, Chairman of Karachi Port Trust, who was at one time the head of PQA sings praises of Najib, though they both did not see eye to eye most of the times. Even then, he respects and admires this young man. Admiral Waliullah, his predecessor at PQA, also acclaimed publicly the contributions of Najib. Ask any stevedore, shipper, cargo handler, or bulk importers / exporters, and they will vouch for his ability and skill and his devotion to his work.

It is time Faheem Basar and his mentor are checked and Editor Imran Aslam is requested to conduct an enquiry into the well-oiled and orchestrated vilification campaign perpetrated in the esteemed pages of The News International. A minute scanning of all past articles written by Faheem is essential and it will be easily demonstrated that these articles were in response to actions which hurt the interests of the junior national carrier, its Chief Executive, and the Korean Panocean company. PNSC and Faheem are the two gullible pawns in this game against the country’s interests. St. Augustine had very rightly advised : "Hear the other side."