Hafeez Sheikh says $1.2bn saved in Karkey dispute can now be spent for development

• PM had earlier announced that PTI government, with the help of Turkish President Erdogan, had amicably resolved Karkey dispute.
• Advisor to PM on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shiekh termed the settlement 'a positive development for Pakistan'.

Advisor to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shiekh has said that the $1.2 billion saved by the government in Karkey dispute can now be used for development and to provide better facilities for the public.

In a tweet on his official twitter handle, the advisor to the PM congratulated the government for resolving the Karkey dispute under the leadership of the Prime Minister Imran. He added that the $1.2 billion, which was a penalty imposed by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), can now be 'spent on the development and in providing better facilities to the public.

A positive development for the country. Under the leadership of Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI, Govt of Pakistan has resolved Karkey dispute saving $1.2 billion to the economy. This amount can now be spent on the development and better facilities for the public.

— Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh (@a_hafeezshaikh) 4 November 2019

Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, with the help of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had amicably resolved the Karkey dispute.

In his twitter message, he said resolution of the Karkey dispute had saved Pakistan USD1.2 billion penalty imposed by the ICSID. The prime minister congratulated the government team for doing an excellent job in achieving this.

PTI Govt, with the help of President Erdogan, has amicably resolved the Karkey dispute and saved Pak USD 1.2 billion penalty imposed by ICSID.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) 4 November 2019

As per reports, Karkey, the Turkish rental electricity provider, filed an arbitration claim against the Government of Pakistan for various unilateral termination of the Rental Services Contract and detention of its ships before the ICSID under Pakistan-Turkey Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), 1995.

The proceedings before ICSID were held between March 23 and March 26, 2018. On August 22, 2018, the ICSID awarded against Government of Pakistan an amount of $760 million along with interest thereupon. After the award, Karkey has gone into enforcement of arbitration award against Pakistan in various jurisdictions including the US, the UK, Germany and France.