Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday that the ruling government will not let Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif become the chairman of the Public Account Committee (PAC) at any cost.
“We will not be blackmailed by the opposition,” the premier said while addressing a meeting of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) parliamentary board, according to media reports.
The forum discussed at length the party’s strategy over opposition’s alliance and their protest over a number of issues.
“An impartial person will be selected for the post after consultation, even if this requires forming committees,” the PM said.
Those in attendance decided to continue the process of accountability in national institutions, and to complete them complete freedom.
The government is willing to accommodate any opposition candidate as the chairman of the PAC, even if he or she belongs to PML-N, except the leader of opposition in the National Assembly and his close aides.
Those who are considered close associates of either former prime minister Nawaz Sharif or Shehbaz included Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Asif and Ahsan Iqbal, the reports added.
‘SHEHBAZ’S NAME CONTROVERSIAL’:
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry Monday said the opposition should give another name for the chairman of the PAC in place of Shehbaz Sharif.
Talking to media persons here after the meeting of Parliamentary Committee of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said, “We can sit and look at the alternate by the opposition as we want to run the parliament but the opposition does not want to.”
He said Shehbaz Sharif’s name for the PAC chairman was controversial. “We have suggested the name of Syed Fakhar Imam and the opposition should give some other name.”
The question was who would audit the projects of the opposition which were initiated by it while in government, the minister said while adding it was the principle that the projects of opposition would be audited by the government and the ones launched by the latter would be audited by the former. “The issue is how Shehbaz Sharif can do audit of Nawaz Sharif.”
