The government has failed to appoint new chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly despite passage of two months, making it dysfunctional after the resignation of Nisar Ali Khan on November 27, 2011. The Auditor General report identified a number of audit paras highlighting misappropriation of Rs 400 billion, implicating government ministries and departments--maybe a reason for the government's lack of interest in appointing a new chairman.
The requisitions for convening a meeting by members of the top parliamentary panel have been rejected by the PAC secretariat, saying that no meeting can be called in the absence of a chairman. An official at PAC secretariat said that under the rules of business, it is the responsibility of the Speaker of National Assembly to appoint the chairman of the committee after consulting with the chief whips of political parties, but so far the Speaker's office has not taken any step in this regard.
He said that the NA Speaker has the power to appoint a person from among members of the PAC, in case of no response from the chief whips, until formal election is held for the slot, in order to continue the smooth functioning of the committee. Sources said that the government has also not made up its mind with respect to the appointment of a new chairman, given that a number of MNAs belonging to ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) are hectically lobbying to clinch the powerful parliamentary position.
A senior member of the committee told this scribe that Nisar bears some of the blame for the current situation as his decision to quit was a bit confusing. Nisar had resigned, as chairman of the committee, when the government appointed Akhtar Buland as Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), citing several charges of misappropriation against him.
"His resignation came at a time when the parliamentary watchdog was all set to take up the audit paras of the incumbent regime...the committee could have been strengthened, had he gone ahead with the same spirit", he opined. Besides, silence of the government to appoint new PAC chairman despite lapse of two months, he added, is a deliberate attempt to protect the corrupt.
Yasmeen Rehman, a member of PAC and a PPP parliamentarian had urged the government to break the stalemate and appoint a new PAC chairman as soon as possible. She said that the parliamentary oversight of public sector institutions is more effective compared to other investigative agencies like National Accountability Bureau (NAB). With the growing predominance of the bureaucracy in the political life of democratic societies, enhancing role of PAC is very crucial, she added.
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