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The NAB official told the committee that NAB was unable to take any action against the culprits because the case was pending since 2002 in the accountability court in Karachi. The committee’s convener Yasmeen Rehman told Defence Production Ministry Secretary Israr Ghumman to make arrangements for a quicker trial of the case in the accountability court, but the secretary said the ministry had no legal right. “As NAB moved the case in 2002, its prosecutor should be told to expedite the said case,” he said.
Ghumman and other top military officers also voiced concerns over Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules in the meeting, saying that the rules kept them at times from negotiating with the lowest bidder, which would allow them to save more public money. Rehman and committee member Sardar Ayaz Sadiq agreed with the ministry officials and asked them to recommend amendments in the existing PPRA rules that would be debated in parliament.
Separately, audit officials told another special committee of the PAC that 89 vehicles purchased from the development funds of the Communication Ministry had been missing for the last 15 years. “[The] Ministry of Communication failed in providing physical verifications of 89 vehicles purchased for Rs 97.4 million from the development funds of a project,” said audit officials. MNA Riaz Perzada, who chaired the meeting, said the missing vehicles were utilised in the Local Bodies election campaigns. Communication Ministry Secretary Anwar Ahmed Khan said that a special committee of the ministry had been set up for the complete physical verification of the 89 vehicles but could not provide any concrete evidence of the possession of these vehicles.
