PAC operates sans opposition involvement in Sindh

Ruling party says watchdog agency will stay with the government

KARACHI:

A Charter of Democracy (COD) signed between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), required opposition leaders of national and provincial assemblies to chair a provincial watchdog called agency the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Its purpose was to probe accounts of government departments and recover misappropriated funds by the relevant officials and settle audit paras. However, for the last three years, almost all standing committees of Sindh Assembly including the PAC, have gone without the participation of opposition members. Owing to which, government departments and officials have been left to operate sans accountability and at a higher risk of financial misappropriations.

The PAC and more than 30 other standing committees are currently headed by ruling PPP members, but the performance of these committees has remained rather dismal in Sindh. The condition is such that no appears to have any knowledge of when the meetings are held and what decisions are made at those meetings.

Official records reveal that the national assembly’s PAC recovered over Rs300 billion that had been verified by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), in its first two years. However, on the other hand, there is no available figure to indicate the amount of embezzled funds recovered by the now redundant provincial watchdog in Sindh. Per Sindh opposition leader Haleem Adil Sheikh, when his government came into power in the centre, the joint opposition in the national assembly had made great hue and cry following an inconsequential delay in appointing the position leader.

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“Bilawal Bhutto and many opposition lawmakers are appointed chairpersons of various standing committees. But situation is totally different in Sindh, where opposition members are pushed to the wall with no share in the committees,” remarked Sheikh. “More than Rs1.4 trillion has been misappropriated in the last 13 years of PPP’s tenure, which is why the government is reluctant to include the opposition in the PAC, because that would expose their frauds,” he claimed.

Addressing PAC’s composition, the opposition leader also alleged that PPP MPAs who have been facing serious charges of corruption are also part of the accountability process. “These include Faryal Talpur and Sharjeel Inam Memon too, who have swindled millions and still ironically remain part of the accountability body, “ he asserted.

The PAC is currently headed by PPP senior lawmaker Ghulam Qadir Chandio while other members of the committee include Muhammad Qasim Soomro, Abdul Karim Soomro, Farukh Ahmed Shah and Ghanwer Ali Khan and etc. Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Mohammad Hussain was of the opinion that it was the first time in the history of Sindh Assembly that not a single opposition member had been a member of the standing committees.

“Standing committees also play a pivotal role in drafting the laws and policies, and debate public interest issues, but the role of the committees has diminished with appointing chairpersons and members from the ruling party,” said Hussian. “We have demanded the PAC chairperson to lay the auditor report in assembly, but all in vain. The ruling party chairperson and PAC and members hold the meeting behind closed doors; even without informing the media,” he added.

According to Hussain, opposition members belonging to his party (MQM-P), Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), have all been protesting to get chairpersonship of PAC and standing committees. Speaking in this regard, GDA’s Barrister Hasnain referred to the increasing number of observations by the AGP office and said that anomalies and corruption in Sindh government accounts are on the rise.

“PPP in Sindh tries to hide its corruption by imposing civilian dictatorship that is why they opt to appoint their own PAC chairperson who keeps mum on every issue,” alleged Mirza. Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, rejecting the opposition’s claims, however maintained that the government is willing to give them a few standing committees, but opposition members are unwilling to accept the offer.

Adding further, he said that that the opposition in Sindh was demanding PAC chairpersonship, which is not possible. Per Shah, COD is not a constitutional binding. It was an understanding between PPP and PMLN, while PTI has nothing to do with it. “Government had asked MQMP, PTI and GDA many times to lead a few standing committees, but they refused it.

Our stand is clear. The PAC will remain with the government and we will not compromise on it. They should come forward to avail share in the standing committee whenever they won’t,” he told The Express Tribune