PAC orders ministry to redeem Islamabad cemetery

Asks various departments, regulators to get their audit done

ISLAMABAD:

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Ministry of Housing to redeem a cemetery that has been included in a housing society in the Tamma Morian area of the federal capital.

A PAC meeting chaired by MNA Noor Alam Khan on Thursday noted that a court of law had ordered the Islamabad Club and the housing ministry not to include the cemetery in the housing scheme.

“This order has, however, not been implemented,” Khan said. PAC later ordered the Ministry of Housing to ensure that the cemetery is not encroached on.

At the meeting, attended by the senior officers of the relevant government institutions and members of the cabinet division, the audit report for 2019-20 was discussed.

The audit officials informed PAC that said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) had not provided them with their data for audit.

The parliament’s accountability body directed the regulators—OGRA, the PTA, Nepra and FAB—to provide their records to the Auditor General of Pakistan by Monday and Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, a PAC member, Sheikh Ruhail Asghar, said all the institutions should get their accounts audited without hesitation. Regulatory authorities should realize their responsibilities, he said.

Khan said this impression should end that some organisations cannot be audited. "We have taken an oath. We will take action if anyone makes a false statement here. We cannot make compromises here.”

The cabinet secretary said they have always fulfilled their responsibilities under the Constitution and law and will continue to do so in the future. Khan said the audit department is not an anti-state institution. “Under the Constitution, every government agency is bound to have its accounts audited,” he said.

The NEPRA chief told the committee that the power regulator has got its audit done.

"We have only approached the high court regarding some information," he said, adding that the court's injunction remains in place until the information is provided.

The PAC chief said the cabinet division secretary should instruct the NEPRA chairman to request the court to issue an injunction regarding provision of records for audit. The secretary assured the PAC chairman that he would resolve the matter and submit a report to the committee.

Noor Alam Khan said there should be no ban on setting up Pakistan State Oil (PSO) petrol pumps anywhere in the country, including Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). He paid tribute to the Power Division for recovery of Rs90 billion on PAC directives.