ISLAMABAD: With the appointment of dissident member of the PTI Raja Riaz as opposition leader in the National Assembly, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was activated with the resignation of Rana Tanveer Hussain as chairman of the committee and its meeting was convened on May 23 (Monday) to elect a new chairman.
According to sources, the vocal dissident member of the PTI Noor Alam Khan has been tipped as new chairman PAC and expected to be elected as a chairman in the meeting of the committee, especially convened for the purpose of election of new chairman.
As per parliamentary tradition, the opposition leader in the National Assembly becomes PAC chairman but there is a situation as PTI has already resigned en masse. However, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf did not take any decision on the fate of the resignations of the PTI but its 20 dissident members did not follow the party on resignation and one of their members Raja Riaz has been declared opposition leader in the National Assembly with the support of 16 members.
Though Noor Alam Khan was also in the race for the slot of opposition leader in the National Assembly but reached an understanding with Raja Riaz, who took along with him a “Jirga” to convince Noor Alam Khan for his support to him. According to sources, the dissident group of PTI in the National Assembly has finalised the name of Noor Alam Khan as PAC chairman and his name has also been conveyed to the government.
As it was prerogative of the opposition leader in the National Assembly either to head the PAC or nominate anyone else to head the PAC and sources claimed that opposition leader in the National Assembly Raja Riaz has nominated Noor Alam Khan for the post.
It is pertinent to mention that after the fiery speech in the National Assembly against his government last year, the PTI has withdrawn the name of Noor Alam Khan from the PAC but now after the change of the government, Noor Alam Khan has been inducted again in the PAC.
The name of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf after being elected as National Assembly speaker has been removed from the PAC while Amir Dogar and Riaz Fatyana from the PTI were also no longer part of the committee and in their place two dissident members of the PTI Noor Alam Khan and Wajiha Qamar will be made part of the PAC. The PTI members who resigned from the National Assembly were still members of the PAC.