The Supreme Court (SC) has directed the AGPR not to pay media houses and advertising agencies from the secret fund, and ordered audit of all secret funds, barring ISI and IB, within 30 days.
A three-member bench of the SC presided over by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja heard the secret fund case on Thursday.
The court also directed the AGPR to make payments of all the outstanding dues and bills to media houses per law except the summaries approved on March 15 and March 19 during the last days of the PPP government.
Payment of all the dues be made to all advertising agencies except the one against their ads, the court further directed.
“Bills wherein legal and constitutional objections are involved with regard to their payment be dealt in conformity with the law,” court further ordered.
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja remarked, “Notices have been issued again to the institutions which are not ready to get audit their accounts under the AGPR. Secret funds can be audited or otherwise, this will be decided finally on July, 8.”
Counsel for APNS Azhar Siddique and Accountant General of Pakistan Tahir Mehmood appeared in the court.
The court was told by the AGPR that one advertising agency had been blacklisted with reference to payment of bills, as several objections had been raised on payment of bills.
“The payment of two other summaries amounting to Rs 950 million and Rs 1.45 billion has been stopped. It can take 30 days to audit these summaries. Nineteen government departments are presenting their matters for audit now. We are authorized to audit all funds except secret funds of IB and ISI and we are doing it. The government has abolished secret funds of several institutions,” the AGPR said.
The hearing of the case was adjourned until July 30.
