ISLAMABAD: The Standing Committee on Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has become dysfunctional as the chairman and some other members belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the allied parties were included in the cabinet and the government, while members belonging to the PTI tendered their resignations and stay away from the committee proceedings.
According to the rules, the PAC shall consist of not more than 29 members of which 23 shall be elected by the assembly from among its members and six shall be elected by the Senate from among its members, one from each province, the Islamabad Capital Territory and the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas, out of which, three shall be from the treasury benches and three from the opposition benches.
The minister for finance shall be ex-officio member of the committee.
At present, the committee has 29 members chaired by Rana Tanvir Hussain who was given portfolio of education minister.
Muhammad Talha Mahmood, Sherry Rehman, Hina Rabbani Khar, Syed Naveed Qamar, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Khawaja Asif, SardarAyazSadiq, Raja Riaz Ahmad, and Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif were also now given portfolios in government.
In violation of rules and regulations, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) lawmaker, Rana Tanvir Hussain, has kept chairmanship of the PAC despite, inclusion in federal cabinet.
A minister shall not be elected as its chairman and if the chairman is appointed as a minister or parliamentary secretary he shall cease to be the chairman.
A member may resign his membership of a committee by writing under his addressed to the Speaker.
For the period till elections to the standing committees are held, the speaker may appoint the standing committees and may nominate the chairman.
If the chairman is not present at any sitting, the committee shall choose one of its members present to act as chairman for that sitting.
The quorum to constitute a sitting of a committee shall be one fourth of the total membership of the committee.
The committee shall examine the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by the assembly for the expenditure of the government, the annual finance accounts of the government, the report of the Auditor General of Pakistan and such other matters as the minister for finance may refer to it.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022