PAC chairman indignant over officials’ absence

Langove vows to keep public funds secure, ensure accountability

QUETTA: Balochistan Public Accounts Committee Chairman Akhtar Hussain Langove has said that he will not tolerate casualness on the part of heads of provincial departments while expressing his ire over the absence of secretaries and key officials from the committee’s introductory meeting.

Addressing the meeting on Friday, Langove said that he will never exceed his powers, while adding that accountability of provincial and other departments would be his prime obligation under the constitutional and legal framework.

PAC members Syed Fazal Agha, Meer Zahid Eli Reki, Finance Secretary Noorul Haq Baloch, Balochistan Accountant General Nasrullah Jan, Director General Mehmood Amir, Law Department Deputy Secretary Mushtaq Hussain and government officials were present in the meeting.

Addressing the accountant general, the chairman said that complaints were being lodged against the department over its practices, and added that the public was aware of departmental conspiracies to hide corruption.

He expressed his reservations over the lack of audits in certain departments including the provincial assembly, the provincial ombudsman office, the governor’s secretariat, and the official residences of the chief minister and police chief.

Member Syed Fazal Agha underscored the importance of taking the committee seriously, while expressing concern over the treatment of government employees and pensioners by the accountant general’s office.