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After years of disturbance and mismanagement within the company, Warid Telecom seems to be in safe hands after Dhabi Group announced on 8th of January the appointment of Mr. Zouhair Khaliq to serve as Executive Director and represent the Group on the boards of Warid Telecom, Wateen and Wincom, while Mr. Naeem Zamindar will hold the position as CEO of Wateen.
In his media statement Chairman of Abu Dhabi group, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan said, “Both Zouhair and Naeem are visionaries, and competent executives, and are highly qualified. Each will continue our Group’s strong commitment to the Pakistani market and the people of Pakistan. They lead our efforts to enhance our operations and improve our organizational effectiveness. For us, at the Abu Dhabi Group these new business leaders represent the next generation of senior executives whose focus will be on setting corporate strategies and policies, providing exceptional service to our customers and creating value for our shareholders in times of constant change”.
The decision came following the annual report released by PTA in which Warid Telecom is shown to have achieved negative growth in the year 2009-10 losing 0.9 million customers and bringing market share to 17.1 percent from 18.9 % in 2008-09.
Sources confirm that negative growth of the entity isn’t the only reason behind management change. Serious management issues during the tenure of Mr. Pervez Shahid and Mr. Bashir Tahir caused Abu Dhabi group to face legal notices from various vendors apart from continuous declining revenue, loss of customer’s trust and brand image which left no other option for the top man but ask for the resignation from both the gentlemen responsible.
Contrary to the market impression, media statement has also clarified that Mr. Bashir and Mr. Parvez never performed as the directors of the group. They were the employees and the replacements were being arranged.
A source closed to the matter on the condition of anonymity disclosed that after Marwan Zawadeh left Warid Telecom from the post of CEO, Abu Dhabi group had started the external auditing of Warid, Wateen and the sister concern Wincom through an Indian audit firm since the start of January 2010. The reports of audit firm never matched with the artificial records provided by earlier management.
With ever deteriorating performance after a successful start, Abu Dhabi group started selling its telecom operations in 2009 and 2010 on global level and managed to sell its African and Bangladeshi operations partially. After various attempts management at UAE failed to merge Pakistani operations with several interested groups including Telenor, PTCL, CM-Pak because of alleged resistance from Parvez Shahid and Bashir Tahir.
According to reports, In order to straighten things up, Mr. Nahayan established a contact with Mr. Zouhair in order to take charge of the affairs who is determined to turn around the entire situation of Warid with in 6 months. He has also asked an 18 months period to turn Wateen into profitable entity. Currently, he is taking actions on emergency basis in order to fulfill his commitment on time.
The emergency can be felt from recent incident when Mr. Shahzad Rauf, head of Strategic Affairs at Warid was stopped by the security staff from entering his office. Every thing at his office had already been confiscated and he was asked to leave the office without giving any reason.
Industry analysts are expecting massive layoff in the month of January from all three companies. Media release from Abu Dhabi Group stated that Wateen will be run by Mr. Naeem Zamindar but it did not confirm the future of Mr. Muneer Farooqui who was appointed CEO by Mr. Bashir Tahir in 2010.
In his official statement Mr. Nahayan further said, “Our Group is committed to providing the resources necessary for the highest quality of operations. By these appointments today we renew our commitment to the people of Pakistan that we will honour their trust with continued hard work and dedication. The Abu Dhabi Group and I have been doing business in Pakistan for many years and we look forward to being here for many years to come. We value greatly the excellent co-operation we have from our Pakistani brothers and sisters. We are inspired by the warmth, good will and collaboration we receive at every level. We are proud of our accomplishments and for the reputation we have earned”.
This clearly shows that the Chairman has thrown his weight behind Mr. Zouhair Khaliq and his plans.
Pakistan produces and export minimum commodities because our policy makers do not bother to pay attention to fix our deteriorating condition. We have been relying on foreign investments for decades. Telecom annual report of 2010 shows minimum foreign investment in the year 2010 which should be a matter of concern for all of us. We are struggling with our reputation for which we blame our rulers. We need to see the enemies in the guise of friends as well who frighten foreign investors in Pakistan and eventually cause the masses to suffer.
A brief background of Mr. Zouhair Khaliq
Mr. Zouhair Abdul Khaliq
Mr. Zouhair Abdul Khaliq’s recent appointment is preceded by his long lasting relation at Orascom.
He was appointed as the CEO of Mobilink on June 1, 2003. From mere under 1 million subscriber base he raised the figure to 30 million at the time he was elevated to the group level at OraCap. Prior to Mobilink, he was the Executive Officer, Operations for Orascom Telecom in Cairo, responsible for Strategic Planning, Commercial Operations, Technology, IT, Human Resources and Corporate Governance for the group’s telecom and technology companies. Earlier in his career with Orascom he held the position of CFO for the Orascom Telecom Group. During his tenure with OTH, Mr. Khaliq successfully led negotiations on debt re-structuring with OT’s banks and principal vendors, developed and successfully implemented OTH’s new operational management strategy, built an efficient and high caliber Operations Control function and team, reorganised Board governance in its subsidiaries and implemented closer monitoring and control systems. Mr. Khaliq also represented Orascom Telecom on the Boards of its subsidiaries in Algeria, Tunisia and Pakistan.
Mr. Khaliq, a qualified Chartered Accountant from the United Kingdom, has served in senior management positions at Motorola, Mobilink, Millicom, ICI Pakistan and Price Waterhouse. Before joining Orascom Telecom he served as Chief Operating Officer for wCities, a location based information service provider in the UK. During 1996 through 2001, while based in the UK, he served as Senior Director of Regional Operations for Motorola’s Europe, Middle East and African telecom networks, where he represented Motorola’s interests on the Boards of several companies in the region including MobiNil in Egypt and Mobilink in Pakistan. During his career with Motorola, Mr. Khaliq held leadership roles in the launch of several cellular operations including Mobilink in Pakistan, Fastlink in Jordan and MobiNil in Egypt.
On the other hand, Mr. Naeem Zamindar was the second executive who was hired in Mobilink in 90s. He remained with the company for over a decade and proved his potential under the supervision of Mr. Khaliq.
When Mr. Zouhair Khaliq left Mobilink, Mr. Naeem was highly ignored by the top management. He was made to stay in the company without any assignment and portfolio for a year before he eventually resigned.
It is expected that Mr. Khaliq and Naeem will gather more of his past team members to face this immense challenge.
bs kr de mr.pakistani ziada munh main mt lo dunya jaanti dono bhaiyoon ne kia kiya he or kia nahi! They and there families are banned in U.A.E and were deported too! There assets are also banned! Mr.Patriot we appericiate what they did to Pakistan but in the end when they saw money they started corruption!
A very big name of there corruption is Al-Razi HealthCare
You know, the younger brother has a track record of corruption since years. He was involved in the corruption in his bank even 25 years ago when his elder brother saved him. He was fired eventually. they are quite used to it and love looting institutions they work with.
It’s not the question of building huge projects and organizations, any Mr. Dick and Harry can do so with a team of good supporting hands and common sense. It’s the question of sailing across the calm and rough. It’s the question of running these organizations smoothly. Bank Alfalah and Warid were built in good times when the economy was stable; the competence and ability are tested in tough times.
Warid and Wateen have been facing too much…its time for a smooth sail. i hope everything go well.
Zouhair Khaliq oversaw Mobilink’s market share reduce from over 70% at one point in time down to just above 35% after he was fired from Mobilink Pakistan and asked to report to the head office of Orascom, from where he was also eventually fired for his ineffectiveness and gross mismanagement and incompetency. He is a basically a failure and the Sheikh has made a big mistake by hiring an incompetent man like him alongwith his little sidekick Naeem Zamindar who just knows how to talk but has never been known to perform in his life. He is a yoga expert, that’s all he knows how to do…telecom is a serious business Mr. Naeem, your yoga won’t do Wateen any good! And Zouhair is more concerned about his personal safety and security…how can such a man be loyal to his colleagues? He is a selfish man….and someone who is totally insecure…his vicious media campaign against Pakistan’s heroes Mr. Bashir A. Tahir and Mr. Parvez A. Shahid proves Zouhair’s insecurity because he can never ever overshadow such Pakistani giants such as Bashir and Parvez…their names will be written in the history books as true Pakistani Heroes!
@Patriot..It was Sheikh Nahyan who took the decision to eliminate Parvez and Bashir and not Zouhair alone. secondly there are dozens of embezzlement with records done in warid and wateen. Any by the way what can we do here by discussing the character of anyone. Time will proof everything. I don’t say Zouhair is the only one who can fix everything. I think we should be concerned about the identity and reputation of our country in general. it is at stake.
RIGHT KAMRAN…we shouldn’t be decisive here.
For your information, Sheikh Nahayan did not ‘eliminate’ Bashir or Parvez. Bashir is an advisor to Sheikh Nahayan and Parvez has retired to spend more time with his family and engage in philanthropic and charity work. You should be ashamed of yourself for speaking against such noble and gigantic individuals such as Parvez and Bashir. The reputation of our country is at stake not only because of the Indians who are now working their way into Dhabi Group but also because of Pakistanis like Zouhair and Naeem who are just pawns in the hands of the Indian conspirators. You will know what I mean after only 1 year.
Go talk to the Ex BCCI team they will tell u what these heroes r
i agree they will all soon get to know….if they had been a part of corruption they are never spending their lives so freely….!!
It is never too late Sir although fired team has shown inability to run this empire and only passed benifts to their team only. Friend s and family was the major slogan of WARID was FRIEND & FAMILY for their customers but never passed on to their customers and remained within the group of fired team….. so bad
A very god decision which is already delayed more than 2years. The previous menagement had destroyed the image of warid as it was in the early years which was blessing of God and was not a credit to that management. Current team of sales is also destroying the running business due to their policies which are only beneficial to them only and not to their sales partners/Franchise by reducing their comissions and getting benifts by showing lower payment on sales and getting bonuses and other benifits by killing their sales partners. Hope that new menagement will take care of such matters which are only benificial to the company Big Fishes. There are many things to be disclosed several embezzelments also…………..God bless new Team Leaders.
Very good news for Warid and Wateen. I know these two competent guys very well. Mr. Zohair Khaliq hired me in early nintees in Mobilink and was a Big boss of mine, mean a department head and become CEO later on. Naeem Zamindar was my Supervisor.
Good leaders and competent personalities, Good Luck Wateen and Warid.
Allah Bless you.
Bashir A. Tahir and Parvez A. Shahid brought US$2 billion of foreign investment into Pakistan when Pakistan needed it most.
History will remember them as Pakistani Heroes!
Zouhair Khaliq and Naeem Zamindar are mere pawns in the hands of the Indians who have now taken over the management of Abu Dhabi Group.
History will remember Zouhair and Naeem as Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq!
Well….Lets see things on merit. You claim that Bashir and Parvez brought this investment into Pakistan, this was not there’s money, secondly they used this money for their ownselves. Telenor started operations in Pakistan after Warid. Just compare the difference of expansion and customer base. Why these two brothers never launched other projects they had announced earlier..?? Just don’t take me wrong…but if you have the answer…please update me.
Ok sure Kamran, let’s see things on merit. Please name any other Pakistani businessman/professional who has managed to attract $2 billion of much-needed foreign investment into Pakistan during the entire 63-years history of this country.
Ofcourse it’s not their own money…but can you or any other Pakistani claim today that they will attract more than $1 billion of investment into this country just because of their own professionalism, trust, and credibility? I challenge you and all other Pakistanis to strive to do what Bashir Tahir and Parvez Shahid have done for this country. If you don’t manage to do it, at least you have tried. If you manage to do it, then it will be highly beneficial for the country and for the people of Pakistan.
How did they use this money for their ownselves? Please substantiate this accusation with proof.
Do you know that Telenor is the 7th LARGEST telecom company in the WORLD? Telenor launched its operations in Pakistan in March 2005 and Warid launched in May 2005. Warid created a world record by winning 1 million subscribers in only 80 days. Did Telenor or any other operator in Pakistan achieve such a record? No. And anyways, overall, how can you compare a global giant like Telenor with a new start-up like Warid? It’s not a justified comparison at all.
Which projects are you talking about which these two brothers didn’t launch? They have launched at least 10 large projects in Pakistan that I know of. How many brothers in Pakistan do you know who have launched 10 large projects to give employment to thousands of people and indirect employment to many more thousands?
Dear Pakistani Patriot, What do you have to say about Bank AlFalah Cooperative Housing Society, which was being developed for the employees of Bank AlFalah, Warid & Wateen and how it is still under development, although nothing has changed on the ground?
Well Mr. Zouhair Khaliq & Mr. Naeem Zamindar will rise th organization .
…The same way that they sunk Mobilink and Mobilink Infinity respectively. Tariq Malik launched Wateen WiMAX in 22 cities across Pakistan. Naeem was too busy doing his yoga classes so he only managed to launch Mobilink Infinity in just Karachi. And Zouhair was too busy enjoying his drinks (he is a heavy drinker) while Mobilink market share fell from 70% to 35% in only 4 years.
i feel proud to read all the valuable qualities of Mr.Zuhair mentioned above by chairman of group. i also worked in Mobilink for 15 years under the leader ship of this esteem personality.
i am the eye witness of success of Mobilink… how naeem and Zohair have elevate this company to the place where its currently is.
GOD bless u both……
It would be interesting to see if old fellows are called to join him or not….in my opinion he will gather all good people who worked with him in the past.
Our rulers are doing the same, they deceive governments, its in their blood. Our businessmen follow them. everything combined, defame us all. This is why world hate us…a very sorry state. Kitna paisa bana liya ho ga dono bhaiyoon nay???
You tell us Kamran…kitna paisa banaya hai donon bhaiyon ne….since you seem to be so sure that they made money at the expense of the companies that they created with their own hands and spent day and night to establish and grow these companies from scratch. Do you know any other banker in Pakistan like Parvez A. Shahid? He built Bank Alfalah from 3 branches to 386 branches in only 12 years. It was the smallest bank in Pakistan when Parvez acquired it for the group. Today Bank Alfalah is the 5th largest bank in Pakistan. Before you accuse anyone, make sure you know the facts…in my opinion, Mr. Parvez A. Shahid deserves to be awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz for his invaluable contributions to Pakistan and its economy and the people of Pakistan!
Patriot, i realize the importance of Bank Alfalah in our economy but you recall that time just a year ago when due all the mismanagement BAF had almost crashed. And when the news came out people started withdrawing their money. You have any idea why it happened to that bank only when its care takers were running it so successfully??? it was the Sheikh in the end, who had to inject money into the bank and he had to come to the media to calm down the public. I think you don’t know the past of Mr. Parvez, he has been doing similar things. If you have worked under his management in Warid or BAF or any other company…ask him what both of them did to BCCI
Kamran the October 2008 event which you are talking about was a conspiracy against Bank Alfalah. It was a planned conspiracy which didn’t succeed only due to Almighty Allah. The Sheikh had to come on the media because he owned the bank….if it happened to MCB then Mian Mansha would also have come on to the media. Do you know that after the conspiracy, Bank Alfalah under the dynamic leadership of Parvez Shahid managed to recover much more deposits than were lost during the crisis? Go ask any branch manager of Bank Alfalah and he/she will tell it to you exactly…I know many managers there and they all have told me the same story. They adore and respect Parvez Shahid.
It seems to me like you are a disgruntled former employee of Alfalah or Warid…what was the reason why you were asked to leave from these companies? These brothers were the pillars of Agha Sahib in BCCI…in only 20 years, Agha Sahib built BCCI into a 73-countries bank….the 7th largest private bank in the world. Agha Sahib couldn’t have done this without his trusted and capable lieutenants like Parvez Shahid and Bashir Tahir and many more patriot Pakistanis. Agha Hasan Abedi is a true hero of Pakistan…I stand up and salute him!!!
these two are leeches and if you think these r heroes then Pakistanis deserve people like these and the repute that it has as a corrupt nation.Agha Sahib will be turning in his grave to the way they treated the people who brought them where they are!
If this is true than really shameful for us. i guess Mr. Bashir A Tahir was also awarded some state award by Pakistani Govt.
dear sir
if you know mr bashir was a bad man tell any proof thank you
regards
Bashir went to jail for corruption and falsifying documents related to accounts in the bank when he was GM at BCC Emirates. He gave political loans to Pakistani politicians and misused his position.
he served 6 years in abu dhabi in jail
And there you have it. Pakistaniwhoknows has said it.
BT’s tenure at the well-documented banking scandal called BCCI is a known fact.
Anyone know what he’s up to now?