PAC condemns removal of electricity meters from committee member’s house

ISLAMABAD: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Junaid Akbar Khan on Wednesday condemned the removal of electricity meters from the house of committee member Sanaullah Mastikhel and his relatives, terming it political victimisation.

In protest, he postponed the committee meeting without taking up the agenda and announced that no further meetings would be held until the matter was resolved.

At the start of the PAC meeting, the chairman recalled that during Tuesday’s session, PAC member Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel had questioned Wapda’s chairman about a project whose cost escalated from Rs4 billion to Rs36 billion, as well as the appointment process of the Wapda chairman. “Perhaps someone did not like these questions and, as a consequence, the meters and transformers were removed. If this is the attitude, then I do not think the meeting should continue,” he said.

Mastikhel stated that after raising these questions, electricity meters were removed from his house and his relatives’ houses late Tuesday night. “If there are retaliatory actions for asking questions in the PAC, how will the committee function?” he asked.

The PAC members strongly protested the incident and demanded strict action, urging the matter to be brought to the National Assembly Speaker’s notice. Chairman Junaid Akbar declared that the committee would not proceed until the retaliatory action was reversed. “If people are threatened like this, no member of parliament will be able to work. I am also bringing this to the speaker’s attention,” he said.

He further stated that he would summon the Power Division secretary to the committee and would not tolerate any disrespect toward its members. Junaid Akbar reiterated that no committee meetings would be held until the issue was resolved and subsequently adjourned the session.

Speaking to the media afterward, the PAC chairman, alongside Mastikhel, said this was not just an attack on the PAC but on parliament and democracy itself, emphasizing that the entire committee condemned the incident. Mastikhel clarified that he was neither a defaulter nor had he acted against Pakistan. “As a PAC member, it is my duty to ensure accountability without discrimination. I will continue asking such questions for transparency,” he said. “The removal of the meter or transformer is not the real issue—it is an insult to parliament.”