ISLAMABAD: The Director General of Trade Organizations (DGTO), Usman Qureshi has said that hearing on disputed elections of Central Chairman of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has been concluded and a decision in this regard will be announced within a couple of days.
Responding to a question, during a meeting of Senate Standing on Commerce, Mr. Quesrhi said that a Director of DGTO has conducted the hearing as he had some other engagements.
PSMA is practically divided in Groups after the controversial election of its Central Chairman for 2024-26 from Punjab, which disregarded the rotation clause designed to ensure equal representation for all provinces in its Articles of Association.
The election has drawn scrutiny from two regulatory bodies: the Directorate General of Trade Organizations (DGTO) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
The PSMA Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Zone has elected Abbas Sarfaraz Khan as its Central Chairman for the 2024-26 term. The election for the KPK Zone’s office-bearers took place on September 30, 2024, resulting in the unanimous election of the following individuals to the Executive Committee: (i) Rizwanullah Khan from Premier Sugar Mills (Chairman/Executive Committee Member, PSMA-KPK Zone); (ii) Muhammad Bilal Bhatti from Al-Moiz Sugar Mills, Dera Ismail Khan (Executive Committee Member, PSMA-KPK Zone); and (iii) Nusrat Ali Khan from Chashma Sugar Mills Limited (Executive Committee Member, PSMA-KPK Zone).
The election of Central Chairman Abbas Sarfaraz Khan followed the rotation principle outlined in clause 18 (iii) of the Articles of Association. However, on October 10, 2024, PSMA (Central) issued a press release announcing the election of a new Chairman, Faisal Ahmed Mukhtar, who was chosen by a majority vote of the Executive Committee members.
Jawed Hussain, Advocate, has sent letters to the Registrars of SECP and DGTO challenging the recent announcement of Faisal Mukhtar’s election. The letters state that, representing Rizwanullah Khan, KPK Zone Chairman and Central Executive Committee member, it is reported that Abbas Sarfaraz Khan from Chashma Sugar Mills Limited was elected as the Central Chairman for 2024-26, as confirmed in an announcement by the Election Commission on October 7, 2024.
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