PAC panels in action, all other house bodies non-operational

ISLAMABAD: It is not the entire National Assembly that is in a deep sleep, dysfunctional, doing no worthwhile work except serving as a debating club.

Of the 342 members of the National Assembly, 28 MPs, who form part of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), are seized with a hectic schedule of work throughout the month of March. On the other hand, no meeting of dozens of other House bodies is planned as they have no legislative or other business to transact.

The PAC members have been divided into over half a dozen sub-panels, which have a mix of government and opposition MPs to maintain a balance and do away with the complaints that one side dominates a certain forum. Almost all the MPs are members of more than one sub-panel. The officially released schedule of sessions of the House bodies clearly establishes that no standing committee except the PAC’s sub-panels is really in action.

A glance at the schedule of their meetings makes it evident that they are allocating a lot of time to the parliamentary accountability. The committee system of parliament is enthusiastically working when it comes to the sub-panels of PAC, holding multiple sessions.

These members of the National Assembly and Senate, belonging to all the parliamentary parties, are equally putting in their efforts, rising above partisan politics. The PAC doesn’t frequently meet and has apportioned the work among the sub-committees, which have a massive agenda to deal with.

Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif, who previously headed PAC, is still its member but is not included in any Subcommittee. PAC is now presided over by PML-N leader Rana Tanveer Hussain.

The legislative agenda is at a standstill in the National Assembly with no House body having been convened to take into consideration any bill in the near future. There is not a single day of March when more than one subcommittee is not holding its session.

They will examine the appropriation accounts and audit reports for different years. They will also be seeking confirmation of actionable points of previous sessions and will review compliance of the PAC directives. A subcommittee also keeps monitoring implementation of the decisions made by PAC and other subpanels.

They will deal with the ministries of interior, power, railways, finance, climate change, communications, federal education and professional training, housing and works, defence production, information technology and telecommunication, industries and production, and energy and cabinet and establishment divisions and Election Commission of Pakistan. The sub-panels are examining the appropriation accounts and audit reports relating to the governments of the PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). In some cases, the years when Pervez Musharraf was in power are also covered.

The subcommittees ensure presence of the auditor general of Pakistan and heads of the ministries/divisions concerned whose audit reports are reviewed. According to the schedule, every subcommittee meets for at least three consecutive days to dispose of the agenda.

The ruling coalition is represented in PAC by its 15 MPs, including Syed Fakhar Imam, Nasrullah Dreshak, Riaz Fatyana, Aamir Dogar, Ms Munaza Hassan, Noor Alam Khan, Khawaja Sheraz Mehmood, Sanaullah Masti Khel, Raja Riaz Ahmad, Chaudhry Hussain Ellahi, Iqbal Muhammad AIi Khan, Akhtar Mengal, Senator Syed Shibli Faraz, Senator Seemee Ezdi, Senator Ahmed Khan.

The opposition parties have 14 MPs in PAC, including Rana Tanveer Hussain, Shahbaz Sharif, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Sheikh Rohale Asghar, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Syed Naveed Qamar, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, Ms Shahida Akhtar Ali, Ali Nawaz Shah, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood and Syed Hussain Tariq.

Since the Senate has no PAC, it was decided some time back to induct a small number of members of the Upper House of Parliament in PAC of the National Assembly to represent the ruling alliance and opposition so that they also join the process of carrying out accountability.

Despite having irreconcilable differences on all issues, the government and opposition members work in complete unison in the subpanels, generating no serious controversies. There is hardly any instance when the PML-N or PPP government has been indicted by any subcommittee on any account.