Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has reportedly approved a summary for the separation of Audit and Accounts Service and a notification to this effect has been forwarded to Law and Justice Division for legal vetting, it is learnt. According to sources, this decision may have been taken after Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) refused to release development funds.
They said that approval of the summary would lead to deprive Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) of administrative powers over the AGPR, which could be given to the Finance Ministry. Secretary Finance Abdul Khaliq on Wednesday confirmed to media after a Public Accounts Committee meeting that a summary to this effect had been approved by the Prime Minister and a notification would be issued anytime soon.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, another official said that the approval of the summary seeking separation of Audit and Account Service could consequently compromise the independence of Pakistan Audit and Account Service. According to him, the AGP is the head of Audit and Accounts, which is a constitutional post and does not come under the government control.
The AGPR may not be able to exercise the power of pre-audit objection to release of funds after it comes under government''''s administrative control. It has been learnt that all this started after the AGPR raised objections to Rs 5 billion demanded by the Cabinet Division for People''''s Works Programme-I and II, a discretionary fund of Prime Minister.