ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly on Tuesday expressed reservations over the probe being conducted by the Pakistan Army into the National Logistic Cell (NLC) scam on the directions of Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani.
“The PAC has already complied three inquiry reports on the NLC scam and the inquiry report of the Pakistan Army would be considered a fourth one without any status of being a final verdict,” PAC Chairman Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said.
He questioned the army’s authority to probe retired military officials under the Army Act, upon which Defence Secretary Athar Shah said according to military rules, the army could investigate any serving or retired military official.
The PAC chairman, with consent of committee members, decided that the matter of settling NLC scam would be taken up in an in-camera meeting of the PAC. “As the matter is also being probed by the army, the PAC will look into the matter, whether it can hold its verdict in the scam for some time,” Nisar said.
General Kayani ordered a high-level inquiry into allegations of Rs 4 billion corruption in NLC. A serving corps commander had been nominated to head the inquiry along with two major-generals as members. The inquiry reports pending before the PAC, had established the involvement of two retired lieutenant generals, one major general and two civilians in the scam.
The accused included Lt Gen (r) Afzal Muzaffar, Lt Gen (r) Khalid Munir Khan, NLC DG Maj Gen Khalid Tahir Akthar, DFA Najeebullah and chief finance officer Saeedur Rehman. The PAC also summoned former NHA chairman Farrukh Javed and the communication secretary in Karachi’s Shershah bridge collapse case.
NHA Chairman Chaudhry Altaf told the committee that the alignment of the said bridge was not correct, but still it was given a go-ahead by former president Pervez Musharraf. The PAC also summoned NHA’s designs cell in-charge of Northern Bypass Karachi (Sher-Shah Bridge) for the next meeting.
The PAC was reviewing audit reports of the Ministry of Communication for the fiscal years of 2005-06-07 and 2008-2009. The NHA chairman told the committee that the government had not suffered any loss, as it had not paid full payment to the contractor.
Nisar expressed disappointment over the reply, saying due to the negligence of NHA, five people died and the nation suffered a loss of 294 million.
