Business Recorder
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) strongly condemns the blatant conflict of interest and complete lack of transparency in the award of three major sovereign financing transactions worth nearly USD2 billion under Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s watch. Independent analysis exposes how the Finance Ministry has repeatedly favoured Habib Bank Limited (HBL) the minister’s former employer where he served as CEO and President for six years and Standard Chartered Bank through non-competitive, opaque processes. While the masses continue to bear the unbearable burden of inflation, unemployment and skyrocketing utility bills, this government is busy awarding lucrative mandates to connected banks without any disclosed competitive bidding, transparency in fee structures, or accountability. The public has every right to ask: how many millions of dollars in advisory, arranger, and underwriting fees have gone to HBL and its partners at the expense of the national exchequer? The facts are damning: In the USD1 billion syndicated loan, HBL and other institutions were given key roles despite the Minister’s recent departure from HBL. In the USD750 million Eurobond (April 2026), Standard Chartered was appointed sole bookrunner with no competitive process; competitive bidding was only invited after the fees were pocketed. In the inaugural $258 million Panda Bond (May 2026), HBL was appointed financial adviser. The Finance Minister publicly thanked HBL by name in Beijing on 15 May 2026 without once disclosing his six-year leadership of the bank. Internal objections from the Finance Ministry’s own External Wing, responsible for foreign commercial loans, sovereign bonds and budget support , were raised on the process, including bypassing protocols in hiring consultants, underwriters, and legal counsel, yet were reportedly ignored. Not a single document has been made public regarding the selection criteria, fee structures, or total payments to these banks. The estimated fee pool across these deals runs into tens of millions of dollars, money that belongs to the people of Pakistan. This favouritism stands in direct contradiction to the IMF’s Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Report (November 2025), which the Finance Minister himself hailed as a “catalyst for reform.” The report highlights persistent and widespread corruption risks, weak institutional capacities, fragmented oversight, ineffective accountability, and a heavily state-dominated economy plagued by complex regulatory environments and constrained rule of law. Sheikh Waqas Akram, Secretary Information PTI, stated: “This is not governance; this is institutionalised cronyism at its worst. A Finance Minister whose former bank keeps winning multi million dollar mandates without competition, while the same government claims ‘reforms’ and ‘transparency’ before the IMF, is an insult to the nation. The people of Pakistan are not fools. They know why this government desperately needs to hide behind fake cases against Imran Khan and PTI, because it has nothing to show on the economy except sweetheart deals for friends and former employers. “We ask the Finance Minister and the entire government these tough, non negotiable questions”: Why was HBL appointed financial adviser and arranger in these deals without any competitive bidding or public disclosure of the process? What exact fees ,in dollars has HBL received across the three transactions? Publish the contracts and fee schedules immediately. Why were internal objections from the Finance Ministry’s own External Wing on the Panda Bond process ignored, including concerns over bypassing the External Finance Wing and improper appointment of transaction underwriters, Chinese legal counsel, and credit rating agencies? When will an independent inquiry be launched into these appointments, and why has the government failed to respond to these legitimate governance concerns? How does this blatant favouritism align with the IMF’s Governance and Corruption Diagnostic that the Minister himself called a ‘catalyst for reform’? The people of Pakistan demand answers not more theatrics, not more blame on Imran Khan, and not more diversionary tactics. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will continue to expose this culture of elite capture and crony capitalism until full transparency is provided and accountability is enforced. PTI stands with the people. Enough is enough. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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