Govt concedes chairmanship of accounts panel to Shahbaz
islamabad — Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the government would not stand in Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif’s way if he wants to head the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Qureshi was speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday on the issue of delay in the formation of house standing committees in wake of opposition’s demand to appoint Shahbaz Sharif as the PAC chairman.
“We met Prime Minister Imran Khan today on the issue of PAC chairmanship,” Qureshi said. “We had offered the opposition to nominate any person other than Shahbaz Sharif but they did not budge.
“Imran Khan has reviewed his decision and if Shahbaz Sharif wants to head the PAC, the government will not obstruct.
“In the larger interest of democracy and in order to make the parliament functional, we concede to the opposition’s demand.”
The development is a major breakthrough as an impasse between the government and opposition parties over the PAC chairmanship had hampered legislative proceedings since the PTI assumed power in August.
Qureshi said the PAC would have to give its opinion about government expenses during the last tenure, adding that it would be improper that the leader of the opposition was heading the committee reviewing the expenses of the PML-N government’s tenure.
The minister suggested to constitute a special committee to look into the expenses incurred on projects executed during the PML-N tenure which would not be headed by the leader of the opposition.
“It has become a parliamentary tradition that the leader of the opposition is nominated as the PAC chairman but it will be better if the accountability panel is headed by a person facing no controversy,”
the foreign minister remarked.
Shahbaz Sharif credited the prime minister for “reviewing his stance”, recognising that “the government wants to make this parliament functional as it wants to bring important legislation for the welfare of the people”.
PML-N leader and former NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also felicitated the prime minister and termed the decision as his “most positive U-turn”. “If he continues to take such U-turns, democracy will be strengthened,” he said.
Some media outlets reported that a sub-committee would be constituted to oversee an audit of the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) audit paras. The sub-committee will be led by a treasury member.
The PAC is the most important parliamentary watchdog that oversees the audit of revenue and expenditure by the government and is considered to be the most powerful committee of parliament. Previously, the PAC comprised only members of the National Assembly, but recently members of the senate have also been made part of it.
Though there is no restriction on the government in the rules to give the PAC chairmanship to opposition parties, it has been a parliamentary practice and tradition that the office is given to an opposition member to ensure transparency in financial matters.