Rabbani writes rare letter to NA speaker

Islamabad
In a rare move, the Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani Tuesday wrote a letter to the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq highlighting certain issues that needed to be settled between the two chambers of the Parliament, following the adoption of the 18th constitutional amendment.
During the Senate proceedings, Rabbani read out some portions of the letter and several members welcomed it by thumping desks. He had already taken on board the House standing committee on finance, the House Business Advisory Committee and also the House about the proposed letter during the last session.
In the aftermath of the 18th constitutional amendment many changes had been necessitated requiring modifications in laws, structures, mechanisms and some involving review of relations between the two houses of Parliament and their committees.
Rabbani pointed out in the letter that the annual report of the Auditor General relating to the accounts of the Federation, for the year 2013-14, as laid in the Senate in terms of Article 171 of the Constitution, 1973 was due to be taken up for discussion and consequential proceedings, in terms of Rule 157 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012.
"As the article has been amended by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, 1973, the rules, practices and traditions that flow, there from, need to be modified, changed or amended accordingly. Article 171 of the Constitution, 1973, provides that, "the reports of the Auditor-General relating to the accounts of the Federation shall be submitted to the president, who shall cause them to be laid before the both houses of Parliament and the reports of the Auditor-General relating to the accounts of a province shall be submitted to the governor of the province, who shall cause them to be laid before the provincial assembly," Rabbani said.
He continued prior to the enactment of the amendment he said that the reports were required to be laid before the National Assembly only; however, the amendment substituted the words 'National Assembly' with the words 'both houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)'. As a consequence distinctly separate and corresponding powers have been bestowed upon both houses of Parliament to examine, discuss, scrutinise and make recommendations on the reports of the Auditor General containing audit paras.
Presently, he contended, reports of the Auditor General were being examined by the Standing Committee of one House only i.e. the National Assembly Standing Committee on public accounts. "The constitutional position, provides for financial autonomy to each House of Parliament, wherein, separate parliamentary secretariats have been established under Article 87 of the Constitution, 1973, clause (b) of Article 81 of the Constitution, 1973, provides that the "administrative expenses" of these secretariats (established under Article 87, Constitutions, 1973), i.e. Senate Secretariat and National Assembly Secretariat, shall be expenditure charged upon the Federal Consolidated Fund," he said.
Rabbani said Article 88 of the Constitution, 1973, provided a mechanism for controlling the expenditures of the secretariats i.e. by the Senate or the National Assembly, as the case might be, acting on the advice of its Finance Committee. The word 'control', used in the article, as a noun means, the power or authority to manage, direct or oversee, as a verb it means, to regulate or govern. No other institution, even the institutions charging expenditures upon the Federal Consolidated Fund, has been given this financial autonomy and authority under the Constitution, to control its expenditures as has been given to both Houses of the Parliament.
"That clause (2) of Article 170 of the Constitution, 1973, confers powers on the Auditor General of Pakistan to audit the accounts of the Federal and of the Provincial governments and the accounts of any authority or body established by, or under the control of, the Federal or a provincial government. There is a deliberate exclusion of Parliament and Parliamentary secretariats in the article. Notwithstanding the fact that clause (2) of Article 170 of the Constitution, 1973, is not applicable to parliamentary secretariats, the Senate, in order to ensure transparency and accountability, decided to place the accounts of its secretariat for audit by the Auditor General, which continues till date and such shall continue," he said in the letter.
The constitutional scheme, he noted, gives rise to the question of the jurisdiction of the Public Accounts Committee to discuss the accounts of Senate. Article 50 of the Constitution, 1973, provides for a Parliament consisting of two independent and equal houses i.e. the Senate and National Assembly, and the president. Articles 81(b), 82(1), 87 and 88 of the Constitution, 1973, provides for parliamentary secretariats with charged expenditure to Federal Consolidated Fund, controlled by the two houses through their respective finance committees. The deliberate exclusion of Parliament from Article 170(2) and Article 88 of the Constitution, 1973, provides for internal audit by each House.
"In this legal scenario, the Public Accounts Committee, which is a Standing Committee of the National Assembly, constituted and working under rules 202 to 205 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, being the Standing Committee of one House, cannot impinge up on the financial autonomy of the other House that flows from the Constitution. It is also against the principles of equity, transparency and natural justice that the Standing Committee of the same House should examine the accounts of its own House," he said.
Rabbani said, "That under the existing provisions of the Constitution, 1973, more particularly Article 171 of the Constitution, 1973, which requires the Annual Report of the Auditor General to be laid in both Houses, one of two procedures can be adopted, either independent Standing committees on Public Accounts of both Houses separately examine the reports of Auditor General containing audit paras or the Parliament (Joint Sitting) Rules, 1973, more particularly rules dealing with committees, be amended in terms of clause (3) of Article 72 of the Constitution, 1973, for constituting a parliamentary committee on Public Accounts, hence, creating a rationale for the Senate for submitting accounts before the Public Accounts Committee (being Committee of both Houses) and meeting the requirements of Article 171 of the Constitution, 1973".