PM directs ministries, depts to hold accounting committee meetings

ISLAMABAD: On the request of the Public Accounts Committee, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed all the ministries, divisions and departments to hold meetings of departmental accounting committees for audit of their accounts

Chairman PAC Noor Alam Khan said he had written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to direct the institutions and divisions to conduct the DAC at departmental levels. He directed the relevant authorities to promptly carry out their DAC meetings for smooth functioning and ensure transparency to streamline the system. Noor Alam Khan asked the Auditor General of Pakistan to conduct an audit of all the institutions and submit a report within a month.

The meeting of the Public Accounts Committee was presided over by Chairman Noor Alam Khan in which the audit objections of the Ministry of Finance for the financial year 2021-22 were examined. The PAC conducted the audit review of the Finance Division during in-camera proceedings at the latter’s request.

The chairman also directed the FIA to help the Ministry of Petroleum recover Rs44 bn pending against Byco company. Evading payments, the company had changed its name to Cnergyico, Noor Alam said. He also asked as to “how the SECP approved to change the company’s name without payment of dues.” Handing over the case to the FIA, Noor Alam Khan said, on the one hand, the country was suffering from a severe financial deficit while, on the other hand, billions of rupees of governments were outstanding. It also withdrew its directive to put the names of officials of the private company on the ECL and to block their NICs. The chairman also directed the FIA not to harass the former employees of PIA whose services had already been terminated.