Speaker gives govt, PTI more time to pick PAC chief

ISLAMABAD: The proposed meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on December 26 to elect its chairman has been postponed as part of confidence-building measures (CBMs) amid ongoing talks between the government and the PTI.

Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has given both the government and the PTI another opportunity to finalise the name of the PAC chairman.

According to sources, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has conveyed to the Chief Whip of PMLN, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, and the Chief Whip of PTI-backed SIC, Malik Aamir Dogar, that they should reach a consensus on the name for PAC chairman during the ongoing talks between the government and the PTI.

Sources said that the National Assembly Secretariat had initially planned to convene the PAC meeting on December 26 to elect an interim chairman until the government and the PTI finalise their choice. However, this meeting has now been cancelled as a confidence-building measure to support the ongoing talks. The government and PTI have been given another chance to agree on a candidate for the chairman’s position.

As per parliamentary traditions established after the 2008 general elections, the chairmanship of the PAC is assigned to the opposition, a practice that has been followed since then.

Sources in the National Assembly Secretariat clarified that, according to the rules governing the Public Accounts Committee, the chairmanship can only be given to a member of the National Assembly, though Senators can also be members of the PAC.