PTI member challenges Shahbaz’s PAC chairmanship

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Sardar Nasarullah Dereshak, challenged the PAC chairmanship of Shahbaz Sharif by writing a letter that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was investigating against him, and it would not be appropriate for him to chair the meeting in which the FIA was making a presentation on the probe against the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).However, chairing the PAC meeting on Thursday, Shahbaz Sharif read out the letter and questioned whether they (FIA) were investigating any case against him. FIA Director General Bashir Memon replied in the negative saying he was not summoned by the FIA in any case.In the letter, Sardar Nasarullah Dereshak had stated that he felt that Shahbaz Sharif was accused in the cases initiated by the FIA with regard to Multan Metro and Orange Train projects; therefore, it would not be proper for him to chair the meeting morally. “Therefore, you may nominate one of your colleagues to preside over the meeting,” he stated in the letter.While replying to the letter of Sardar Nasarullah Dereshak, PAC Chairman Shahbaz Sharif said he did not receive any notice yet in this regard from the FIA. “Imran Khan has made allegation against me and sent a team to China but did not get any evidence of my involvement,” he said, adding that he had defended his position in the assembly.Sadar Nasarullah Dereshak made a complaint that he had sent this letter just an hour ago, and it would be appropriate that for discussing the letter here he should call him separately. “But if I was at your place, I will not chair the meeting,” he said.Shahbaz Sharif said when he was not wanted in a case to the FIA, there was no issue for him to sit there. Syed Naveed Qamar remarked that such an objection was not appropriate as there was a clash of interest in any audit para, then this objection could be accepted.Rana Tanveer Hussain said such kind of the investigations were also going against the provincial ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said NAB was probing the case against Prime Minister Imran khan, but he also holds the meeting with the NAB chairman.Leader of the House in the Senate and PAC Member Shibli Faraz said that PAC used to probe the irregularities of previous governments, and it seems that when the objection was raised on the previous tenures, then the members concerned came in position to defend the past deeds. “I think that the members who remained part of the previous government should not sit in PAC when the committee was examining the audit paras of the past government,” he said.Syed Naveed Qamar did not agree to the suggestion of Shibli Faraz saying that the members were sitting above the party affiliations as most of the audit paras come here with regard to bureaucratic procedural irregularities.

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