Political rivalry, or PTCLs sale actually flawed?

Three months after taking office, Privatization Minister, Waqar Ahmed Khan has discovered that the sale of government stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Company was "unfair".
"The deal was full of flaws and legal advisers had asked the then government to scrap it otherwise it would be considered contrary to rules," a statement released by the Privatization Commission (PC) said, after Khan told lawmakers that the deal was "not transparent and was made in violation of rules and procedures".
Khan was referring to the sale of 26 percent stake, along with management control, to the UAE-based telecom giant Etisalat in 2006 - a deal which was struck when the current de facto finance minister, Hafeez Shaikh, was heading the governments asset sale agency.
Interestingly, the statement comes just days after the finance ministry, under the supervision of newly appointed Shaikh, lambasted the commission for trying to bypass relevant legal requirements defined under the Rules of Business, 1973 in its plans to sell $500 million worth of convertible bonds of Oil and Gas Development Company.
The finance ministry pointed out that the issuance of bonds mainly fell under its domain because it is their responsibility - and not of Privatization Commissions - to manage the countrys debts and liabilities.
Whether or not this is a typical mud slinging between the two ministries, one thing is for sure: if PTCL row gathers heat, foreign investors, whatever is left of them, might turn wary. And the reason is simple.
If potential investors see that a relatively simple service sector deal - which by the way has been widely touted as PCs poster-transaction - could attract trouble four years later, then little can be expected from the more complex proposals of selling the restructured white elephants.
At the political end of the problem, PTCLs row may jeopardize the governments already faltering reputation in connection with the appointment of Hafeez Shaikh as the advisor to prime minister on finance.
That is, of course, if the concerned standing committee eventually finds the transaction flawed. If that happens, it will be interesting to see how Hafeez wipes the slate clean.