PAC settles audit objection to procurement of Benazir’s portraits

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Tuesday settled the audit paras of irregular procurement of portraits of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto by the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) that cost Rs3 million.
The PIA initiated purchase of big portraits of national heroes, dignitaries and political figures to be placed at airport lounges on May 15, 2009. Subsequently, five persons were qualified for the job as notified through an internal letter dated May 25, 2009.
However, this prequalification was without participated of any of these persons and two of them were rejected due to non-submission of samples.The purchased order was placed firstly for three portraits at a cost of Rs0.900 million at the rare of Rs0.3 million per unit on July 14, 2004 in favour of a single technically qualified person.
On the query of the committee, it was told that the portraits of the former prime minister were painted by Ruheena Malik and she was paid Rs3 million.However, these portraits were not placed at the airports as portraits of only the president and prime minister were placed on the airports.When the PAC settled the para, PAC Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah was not present and the meeting was chaired by Sardar Ashiq Gopang for a while.