Meters removing issue to be raised with PM

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told on Tuesday that MNA Sanaullah Mastikhel, a PAC member, had forgiven the people responsible for removing electricity meters from his and some of his relatives' residences. However, the matter will be raised with the prime minister.

The PAC on Tuesday met under the chairmanship of MNA Junaid Akbar to review audit paras of the PR.

During the meeting, the committee also discussed the issue of removal of electricity meters. The energy secretary said officials responsible for this had tendered an apology. He said he had briefed the committee on the issue and now it was up to the PAC as to how it wanted to tackle the issue.

Speaking during the committee session, Mastikhel said that following his inquiries a day earlier, electricity meters were removed from his and relatives' residences.

He alleged that unidentified individuals in white vehicles disconnected power supply and issued threats of demolishing properties belonging to his family.

During the Tuesday meeting, it came to the committee's notice that a piece of land that the Pakistan Railways had leased to Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital in Sukkur at the rate of Rs1 per square yard had been sublet for commercial use. It transpired that a marriage hall and mobile phone towers have also been established on the land meant for welfare purposes, causing a loss of Rs450 million to the railways.

The Railways secretary said ML-1 project which is part of the CPEC is of strategic nature. To a question with regard to the speed of trains on the ML-1, he said the upgraded design allows for a speed of 160 kilometers per hour.