PAC panel seeks NAB briefing on assets beyond means cases

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly on Wednesday detected serious irregularities in an agreement between Pakistan Post and a private bank and sought audit report within two weeks and a response from the communications ministry.

The meeting, chaired by committee chairman Rana Tanveer Hussain, discussed the agreement between the Pakistan Post Office and a private bank and received a briefing from the communications secretary. The committee was informed that the agreement was signed on June 3 this year.

During the meeting, committee member Sardar Ayaz Sadiq asked a number of questions regarding the agreement. Sadiq pointed out that Rs118 billion agreement was signed on a Rs100 stamp paper. He asked if the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules were violated in the agreement.

Sadiq enquired whether the agreement was vetted the finance ministry. Audit officials told the committee that “to our knowledge, the finance ministry did not approve it”. Sadiq then asked if the deal was approved by the cabinet. The communications secretary replied in negative.

Sitting on the committee, Khawaja Asif told the communications secretary that the PPRA rules violation had taken place in his tenure. However, the secretary replied that it happened before his time in office. He added that PPRA rules did not apply to the agreement.

Sadiq said that the communications ministry cut off its hands and handed them over to a private bank. Rana Tanveer Hussain remarked that many things had been happening in the name of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which were totally unnecessary.

Another committee member, Noor Alam Khan asked how many investigations had been launched by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in cases of assets beyond means against politicians, generals, judges and bureaucrats. The committee sought a briefing from NAB officials in this regard.