News Analysis |
An auctioneer who was appointed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued a schedule on November 13th, for the auction of Ittefaq Textile Mills, owned by close relatives of the Sharif family over a defaulted loan.
As per a public notice, posted on the Lahore high court premises, the 27.05 Kanal property situated on Multan road in the suburbs of Lahore, will be sold in an auction to be held on December 15th, 2017.
The LHC judge Justice Shahid Kareem resumed hearing of a petition filed by the Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) seeking auction of the textile mills to repay loans. The counsel for the defendants also informed the court that in December 2016, a decree of over Rs. 250 million was issued against the defaulters, however, only Rs. 140 million was paid by the defaulters.
Ittefaq foundries, a group of industries were founded by seven brothers in 1959, including the father of former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, Mian Muhammad Sharif.
The council also pleaded for selling the mill for the payment of the outstanding amount. The high court had, in 2012, allowed the auction of the mills on a suit filed by Muslim Commercial Bank for the recovery of around Rs. 110 million to clear the default of a loan of Rs. 250 million secured against the mortgage of the property.
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The owners include including Mian Haroon Yousaf, Muhammad Yousaf Aziz, Kausar Yousaf, Saira Farooq and Ayesha Haroon. During the proceedings, the counsel of the bank said that the owners and the relatives of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had mortgaged Ittefaq Textile Mills to receive loans for business.
He said that the defaulter Mian Haroon Yousaf had also given the guarantee of Mian Yousaf and others for the loan. However, the bank has not been repaid the loan and therefore it may be allowed to auction the mills to recover the amount. After hearing the arguments, the court ordered to auction the Sharif family’s Ittefaq Textile Mills on December 15th.
By July 2002, a court had initiated a Rs. 47.319 million loan recovery suit filed against the Ittefaq Textile Mills by the Allied Bank (ABL). The mill that was cited to have been worth Rs. 120.92 million back then, was jointly owned by seven families of the Ittefaq Group, including that of the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Lahore High Court on May 5, 2001, had issued an order in favour of the bank and had referred to a banking court for its final execution, which was executed in 2002.
An auctioneer who was appointed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued a schedule on November 13th, for the auction of Ittefaq Textile Mills, owned by close relatives of the Sharif family over a default loan.
The court had issued the orders for the liquidation of the mill after receiving cost estimation from a customs appraiser who had been hired by the court. The suit amount was to be paid from the sales proceeds of the property. The suit had been filed against Mian Yousaf Aziz, Mian Haroon Yousaf, Mrs Kausar Yousaf, Mrs Ayesha Haroon, Mrs Saira Farooq and Muhammad Sadiq under the Banking Courts Act, 1997. However, the loan was settled and the LHC waived the default. Ittefaq foundries, a group of industries were founded by seven brothers in 1959, including the father of former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, Mian Muhammad Sharif.Â
The primary businesses included Ittefaq Steel Mills and electronics. By 1971 it had become the largest steel industry in all of Pakistan.
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In 1976, the executed Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto nationalized the steel industry including the Ittefaq group, a political move that the former Prime Minister has cited in many of his speeches. In 1985, General Zia Ul Haq, the political mentor of Mian Nawaz Sharif, returned the industry to the Sharif family and during the 1990’s, it progressed from four steel mill establishments to thirty different businesses including textiles, leading up to the Ittefaq textile mills, which will come to an end on the 15th of December 2017.