Seven-month hiatus: PAC to work out audit clearing plan today

ECP’s account details will be first to be scrutinised by the new watchdog.

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s powerful anti-graft watchdog will at last hold its inaugural meeting on Monday (today), filling a vacuum some seven months after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz formed the government.

The country’s auditor general and all other principal accounting officers of the government institutions will attend the maiden meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The head of the committee, Syed Khursheed Shah, who is also the leader of the opposition, is expected to work out a strategy to clear the pending auditor general’s reports when he presides over Monday’s meeting.

The auditor general will brief the committee about the audit records.

The anti-graft watchdog will formally start examining the accounts of various departments from December 31. Account details of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will be the first to be examined and discussed. Accounts details of the ministry of information and broadcasting and national heritage, ministry of overseas Pakistanis and human resources development will also be under discussion on December 31.

Earlier, Shah had called upon members of the committee to work together to improve PAC’s performance.

This will be the second term when an opposition leader in the lower house will serve as the head of the PAC.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2013.