Senate chief authorised: Six senators to be included in Public Accounts Committee

Four senators will be from each province, while two will be from ICT and FATA

ISLAMABAD: The Senate adopted on Friday a motion authorising its chairman to make nominations for representation in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The motion allows the chairman senate to nominate six Senators for inclusion in the 24-member PAC of the National Assembly, whose strength would increase to 30 members with the arrival of six senators – three each from treasury and opposition benches.

Of the six members, four would be from each province, while the remaining two would be from Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The motion was passed unanimously. Acting Chairman Ahmed Hassan chaired the session.

Representation in the PAC means that the Senate will now have some role in tackling financial malpractices, irregularities, corruption and other forms of foul play. Interestingly, PAC recommendations are not legally binding until and unless adopted by Parliament via related bills.

In a rare show of unity, all political parties in Senate signed a petition in June this year in favour of the upper house’s representation in the PAC. In July, the Senate’s House Business Advisory Committee had approved a draft suggesting amendments in the upper house’s rules for the creation of Senate’s own PAC separate from that of National Assembly.

Later, the panel decided to seek Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s input in this regard in his capacity as the Leader of the House in the National Assembly, while deciding to defer the decision about creating a separate PAC for Senate. The premier was abroad then. Upon his return, the matter was taken up with him and the PM approved inclusion of Senators in the NA’s PAC.

The related motion regarding Senate’s representation in PAC in Friday’s session was moved by the Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq.

Apart from that, the government had to withdraw the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016 after opposition senators pointed out that the bill contained suggested amendments in Protection of Pakistan Act (PoPA) that had lapsed in July. Subsequently, the bill was referred to the Senate’s committee concerned.

Later, the opposition senators criticised President Mamnoon Hussain’s address to the joint session of Parliament on June 1.

The senators termed his address lopsided and partisan. They said it disregarded the ground realities and real issues facing the country. “The president’s speech lacked vision. It looked as if a party leader was propagating his party stance. It never looked like the address of a head of state,” remarked Nauman Wazir of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). This embarrassed Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab. The minster had moved a motion to ‘pay gratitude’ to the president for his address to the parliament’s joint session.

“I am sure this speech was handed to our respectable president by some section officer. The president did not even know what he was saying,” said Barrister Saif of Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

The session was later prorogued.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2016.