Oversight: PAC chief moves court for audit reports

Advocate Sheraz Zaka said the report had still not been submitted to the committee

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Punjab government on a petition moved by the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rasheed regarding submission of district government audit reports to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). 

Advocate Sheraz Zaka, counsel for the petitioner, the auditor general had written a letter to the governor on September 7, 2012, reminding him to fulfil his statutory obligations and submit audit reports to the committee. He said the letter was also forwarded to the chief minister. He said auditor general had written to the Finance Department secretary on June 4, 2014, seeking reports for financial years 2001-2002 to 2012-2013.  He said the PAC was told at a meeting on September 15, 2015, that the reports had been received and submitted to the chief minister. He said the report had still not been submitted to the committee. Zaka said under Section 108 of the Punjab Local Government Act, the Public Accounts Committee was mandated to receive reports submitted by the auditor general.  He asked the court to direct the respondents to submit the audit reports to PAC. The judge issued notices the auditor general, the chief minister and Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs and sought their replies in a month.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2015.