ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly has largely been dysfunctional for about three months, putting on hold functions of the pivotal arm of the legislative body responsible for scrutinising expenditures.

The PAC has not met since August 5 to take up its agenda. Interestingly, the reason is not the ongoing political impasse between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek, but rather a reference filed against the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), Buland Akhtar Rana.

Taking a bold stand, Mr Rana announced in the first week of August that no official from his office would appear before the PAC unless its Chairman Khursheed Ahmed Shah was replaced with a non-PPP member.

The AGP was of the opinion that since the PAC was set to take up audit reports relating to the PPP’s stint in power from 2008 to 2013, Mr Shah, who was a senior member of the previous government, should not chair the meetings.

Mr Shah struck back, with the support of committee members, and decided to send a reference against the AGP to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on August 11 for allegedly using his position to get his salary and other perks increased.

A sub-committee of the PAC found the AGP guilty and recommended disciplinary action against him. According to the two-member sub-committee, in addition to his salary the AGP was drawing over Rs100,000 per month under the government’s transport monetisation policy and using two official vehicles.

Under the rules, after taking oath as AGP Mr Rana was no longer a civil servant, the sub-committee said in its report.

The SJC is currently hearing the reference under Article 209 of the Constitution. If the allegations levelled against Mr Rana are found to be true he will lose his post. Holders of constitutional positions can be removed like members of the superior judiciary by the SJC.

According to a senior official at the AG office, until the SJC completes its proceedings and announces its final ruling in the matter it appears the working of the PAC will remain suspended. “The issue of increase in AGP’s salary might have been settled at the committee level, but after Mr Rana took a stand against the PAC chairman the tussle has now morphed into a war of egos,” the official said.

Because the PAC was to take up the audit reports questioning the spending by the PPP government, including those of the ministries of overseas Pakistanis and religious affairs which Mr Shah had headed as federal minister, the AGP had raised the genuine issue of clash of interests, the official said, adding that most officials at the AG office believed that their boss had taken a principle stand against the PAC chairman.

The government is using the tension between the PAC chairman and the AGP to its favour. The PPP has emerged as a strong supporter of the PML-N against PTI chief Imran Khan and, therefore, it happily accepted the committee’s recommendations against Mr Rana.

Since his appointment in August 2011, Mr Rana hasn’t been liked by the PML-N. The-then PAC chairman and incumbent Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, quit the committee as a protest against the selection of Mr Rana as AGP by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

“The reference against Mr Rana has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us in the government, because from day one we have detested his [Mr Rana] promotion as AGP,” a senior government functionary told Dawn.

The AGP had also objected to the current government’s decision to write off circular debt of Rs480 billion at one go which, according to him, was a violation of government rules.

“Still, in this highly uncalled for situation, the state is at the receiving end,” argued a grade-22 officer. “All over the world, government auditors play the critical role of keeping checks on public spending, but unfortunately the very office has been made dysfunctional in the country.”

If the government and the PAC genuinely believed that the AGP was a guilty party, they should have swiftly moved to seek his removal so that the rest of the audit department could work smoothly, the officer said.

Under the Charter of Democracy signed by the PPP and PML-N, the leader of opposition in the National Assembly is to head the PAC.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014