Punjab govt considers ZTE for Safe City Project despite US restrictions

LAHORE (CNews) – Punjab government has included a Chinese company ZTE among Safe City Project’s potential contractors irrespective of the law violations it is accused of in United States (US), Dunya News reported Thursday.
The Chinese company is striving to land contract of Punjab Safe City Project worth Rs 75 billion from the provincial government. The government, allegedly unaware of company’s violations in the United States has included it in the list of potential entities.
Dunya News has obtained documents pertaining to the action taken by the United States against the company.
According to the documents of US Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), ZTE along with its three sister companies is accused of importing telecommunication equipment and software from China and re-exporting the instruments to Iran in violation of the Iran sanctions.
In a verdict given on March 8 by commerce department, the re-export has been declared a threat for national security and foreign policy. The Chinese company has been added in the BIS Entity List of the Federal Register. Iran, Sudan, Syria, North Korea and Cuba are there in the list as well.
Punjab government is considering the company accused of faulty practices for contracts of counter-terrorism and anti-crime projects in Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Lahore among other cities.
Under Lahore’s safe city project, around 6,500 CCTV cameras, special equipment for security of cricket stadiums, aircraft crash and to avoid other untoward incidents will be installed. The government also plans to upgrade systems to better monitor mobile phone calls and track suspicious vehicles in different parts of the city.
Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has stated that a company that is accused of malfunction in any part of the world is not allowed to function in Pakistan.
The commission further stated that issue pertaining to Chinese ZTE would be reviewed.
On the other hand, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar was informed earlier today that the project has passed test phase and is ready to be inaugurated. The Interior Minister ordered authorities concerned to revoke licenses of private security companies that did not submit required details to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration.