The dissolution of special and sub-committees of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by PAC Chairman Nisar Ali Khan to protest the appointment of Rana Buland Akhtar as the auditor general of Pakistan has turned out to be a smart political gimmick by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, as the dissolution comes at a time when NA Speaker Fehmida Mirza is reviewing objections raised by a PAC member over the legitimacy of the subordinate parliamentary bodies.
A source told Pakistan Today that PAC member Nadeem Afzal Chan had sent a letter to the NA speaker a few weeks ago challenging the formation of PAC sub-committees (PAC-I, II and III) by Nisar. The source said Chan had contended that the PAC chairman had constituted special and sub-committees without any authorization. He said that by disbanding the illegally constituted sub-committees, Nisar had successfully lodged his protest against the appointment of Rana Buland Akhtar and also averted legal complications attached to the formation of these subordinate bodies.
“Chan said all sub-committees of the PAC had been formed by the PAC chairman’s staff on directions passed verbally or through email by Nisar and the committee’s approval was never sought, therefore, the sub-committees were illegal and should be disbanded by the NA speaker,” the source said. Talking to Pakistan Today, Chan said Nisar’s act of dissolving the special and sub-committees might be a pre-emptive move to avert the speaker’s ruling on the legitimacy of the bodies.
