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Thursday March 28, 2024

PTI MNAs not happy with Shahbaz election as PAC chairman

By Muhammad Saleh Zaafir
December 25, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The ruling party members especially some federal ministers are extremely perturbed about the election of leader of opposition Shahbaz Sharif as Chairman prestigious National Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

It is learnt that they have pressed upon the prime minster to get rid the situation since Shahbaz Sharif has obtained authority to come to Islamabad any day during his detention by the NAB. “It has defeated the purpose of detaining him,” they contented.

Shahbaz Sharif can issue order for his production for committee meetings for any number of days. In the backdrop of the situation, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar had an important meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan here at the Prime Minister Office (PMO) Monday. The sources said that the speaker discussed with the prime minister about the election of other standing committees of the house and legislation process in the lower house of the Parliament.

The sources said that the government had planned to summon the National Assembly on January 21 instead January 7 as per indicated in the agreed calendar of the house for holding sessions of the National Assembly. Officially no detail has been provided about the discussion between speaker and leader of the house of the National Assembly but sources said that Asad Qaisar has reminded the prime minister that no tangible progress could be possible as long the government and opposition don’t develop working relationship with each other.

Meanwhile, the sources said that once a chairman is elected including of the PAC no no-trust move could be brought about against him. There is no room for his replacement. Such elected chairman can be removed only if he ceases to be member of the National Assembly.

A learned constitutional expert and former Secretary National Assembly Karamat Hussain Niazi who has also served as federal secretary law and justice told ‘The News’ Monday that “Rules of the National Assembly are silent about the question of no-confidence against the chairman of any house committee.”

He said that since no procedure has been laid down for no-confidence against the chairman of house committee and in the absence of scope for no-confidence against any chairman, means no provision exist for any such motion.

In the circumstances the government will have to tolerate Shahbaz Sharif as chairman PAC till he is member National Assembly or he opts to resign.

The sources indicated that the chairman PAC could convene meeting of the committee anywhere other than Islamabad. The PAC meeting could be held in Lahore or Karachi as well.

Likewise sources said that Khawaja Saad Rafique who is member National Assembly from Lahore and he has been arrested by the NAB along-with his younger brother Khwaja Salman Rafique in the same case would be in Islamabad quite frequently since he has become member of the standing committee on Law and Justice.

Riaz Fatiana, a PTI member of National Assembly who has been elected chairman of the committee would issue production orders for Khawaja Saad Rafique for attending the committee meeting.

The government has planned to transact legislation on large scale in the National Assembly; the said standing committee will be meeting frequently. It will facilitate Khwaja Saad Rafique to be present in Islamabad instead cell of the NAB in Lahore, the sources reminded.