ISLAMABAD:
The interior minister seems to be on a crusade against the Sharifs – with his latest move being a possible moving of parliamentary watchdog the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) with a reference pertaining to alleged money laundering cases.
While the contents of a letter written to PAC Chairman Nadeem Afzal Chan by Interior Minister Rehman Malik have still not been made public, it is widely believed that they are related to the alleged money laundering cases. “I have not opened these letters. But I can confirm that I have received some letters from Rehman Malik but I don’t know their contents yet,” the PAC chairman told the media here on Tuesday.
The move by Malik may now set the stage for a potential showdown between the newly appointed PAC chairman and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) members of the powerful panel of the National Assembly.Chan told The Express Tribune that once he had studied the contents of the ‘letters’, the fate of the references would be decided after consultation between members of the committee. “The decision to take up the issues pointed out by the interior minister would be taken up in accordance with the rules.”
Nisar’s precedents
The last chairman of the committee, PML-N’s Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, had set a precedent during his tenure as chairman by investigating matters which were not part of audit reports by the auditor general of Pakistan.
The general view before Nisar’s tenure was that, under the rules, the 23-member multi-party committee could only investigate matters which were pointed out in audit paragraphs of reports by the auditor general. However, similar to suo motu powers exercised by other institutions, Chaudhry Nisar also began taking up matters that were beyond routine.
The first such case initiated by Nisar involved the sale of Pakistan embassy buildings in Tokyo and Jakarta at throwaway prices. Another precedent set by the PML-N stalwart during his chairmanship was to seek details of lobbyists hired by the incumbent government in the US to boost Pakistan’s image.
Led by Chan, the committee includes some heavyweights from the PML-N including Khawaja Asif, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Zahid Hamid, Pervez Malik and Abid Sher Ali.
Under the rules, the chairman has to consult committee members before taking up any issue.
PPP members in the committee include Qamar Zaman Kaira, Rukhsana Bangash, Noor Alam Khan, Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Rana Farooq Saeed Khan. Interestingly, Pervez Malik will be arguing on behalf of the PML-N leadership, while his sister Yasmeen Rehman will plead the case on the government’s behalf.
As it stands, the PPP and its allies have a clear-cut majority in the PAC with Asia Nasir of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) being the only opposition member in the panel other than the PML-N members.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2012.
COMMENTS (13)
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The IM has won the initial battles against the Sharifs but war still remains to be won. Best of luck Mr Malik.
So much for conflict of interest..."Interestingly, Pervez Malik will be arguing on behalf of the PML-N leadership, while his sister Yasmeen Rehman will plead the case on the government’s behalf"... I can already see the outcome of this case...supporters of both parties on the streets at each others' throats while their esteemed leaders will be smiling at the whole charade
PTI is an upright party..it will never make an alliance with either Piplies or noonies.. beacause it has unshackable, long standing and all weather alliance with ISI..
@popsaeed: There is no need to destroy the PML-N as Sharifs and Ch. Nisar are sufficient to do the job.
Soon Nawaz Sharif will need to open those 40 suitecases and details about money laundering... They wont complaint the Independent Judiciary, i believe :)
i pity those who say PPP and PTI are together...nooras will stay nooras!
Down With PMLN and PPP - "Samjhota Express" - You'll witness it soon! (again)
People also want to know what was in the 40 suitcases that the Charles Sobhraj of Pakistan fled with after signing the deal with Musharraf.
There's no crusade between these two parties. In the end they will have a nice dinner together and will forget all past differences in the name of 'national unity'. We've seen it all before.
Sharif has only himself to blame for this confrontation. He has been living in glass house while throwing stones at the others. He is a common citizen and has no elected office. Why should the truth not come out about his money laundering and corruption? This is what open and honest debate in a Parliament that makes the country strong. In the parliament there would be no PCO judges to keep all the cases against Sharifs in the cold storage. There is a higher court than all of them and it is called people’s court.