PAC summons NAB acting chairman, former Lahore DG

ISLAMABAD: Public Accounts Committee Chairman Noor Alam Khan on Tuesday issued summons for NAB Acting Chairman Zahir Shah and former NAB Lahore DG Saleem Shahzad for today (Wednesday). He said if the two did not appear before the PAC, they would be arrested and produced before the committee.

In a PAC meeting held here, he also hinted at action under Article 6 against NAB officers for not providing documents to the committee. Khan asked the auditor general of Pakistan for a report on irregularities committed in the issuance of broadcasting rights to the ARY within two days. He slammed the FIA for not giving a briefing to the PAC in this case. The information secretary told the committee that the FIA was investigating the case.

Khan said the PAC took action on the application of a woman who accused former NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal and Saleem Shahzad of harassing her, but now the NAB officers were running away from accountability. “I will call the people named by the woman as the case of harassing a woman also falls under the category of corruption. So it can be heard by the PAC,” he said, adding that the asset details of NAB officers had not been received. Strict laws should be applied to those who hid their assets, he said.

PAC Member Shibli Faraz said the PAC should be limited to audit only and should not be involved in matters pending with courts. Khan said: “We have no personal issues with anyone doing corruption. The PAC can hear public petitions under Article 207. If courts do not want accountability, tell us, we will abolish the committee and go home.” He said he had repeatedly asked the NAB for details of closed cases, but it was not doing so. Action could be taken under Article 6 of the Constitution against NAB officers not submitting these details.

The matters of the Pakistan Television Corporation were also taken up in the meeting and the audit officials told the committee that in 2006, PTV MD Arshad Khan recruited people with fake degrees. On this, the committee ordered verification of degrees of all PTV employees. The information secretary told the committee that the degrees of 1,644 employees had already been sent for verification.

Shibli Faraz said there was a mafia in the PTV as a large number of useless people had been recruited by the PTV.

PAC Member Rohail Asghar said: “We have made the PTV the slave of every government as whenever a government comes, the PTV MD is changed. As soon as the new government comes, the picture of the previous prime minister is replaced with the new one.”

PAC Member Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said he had rid the PTV of mafia during his tenure as information minister. Shahida Akhtar said the PTV was not becoming a national TV, but a party or government channel.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Khan said the Constitution allowed the PAC to ask for any details and documents from any government department. Be it the NAB or FIA, all employees should declare their assets, he said, adding that the PAC respected courts and would submit response to cases filed in courts. “What is wrong with the powers given to the PAC or any committee in the 1973 Constitution if we use them to stop corruption? I ask the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan; Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and KP courts should I not stop corruption?” He said the prime minister’s directive to telecast PAC proceedings live was commendable.