Can’t give PAC chairmanship to Shehbaz Sharif: Fawad Ch

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said that they cannot give the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee to Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif. On the other hand, the opposition has united over the issue. The opposition leaders said that the PAC chairman is always from the opposition and they will boycott if the designation was not given to it. Meanwhile, the ruling party is in confusion on the question of appointing Shehbaz Sharif, the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, as head of the key Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Prime Minister Imran Khan has deferred the decision on the issue till the return of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi from abroad. Sources said that Prime Minister Imran Khan and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had discussed the issue with the latter proposing that Shehbaz be made the committee’s chairman in line with the parliamentary tradition. The PM informed the speaker about reservations of senior party leaders on the appointment of Shehbaz as PAC chairman and asked him not to take any action. One of the most powerful parliamentary bodies, the PAC is mandated to summon officials of federal government departments and seek explanation from them in connection with allegations of misappropriation. The PAC’s recommendations against a senior official are hard for the government to ignore. Prime Minister Khan is determined to have a lawmaker from treasury benches elevated as PAC chairman. However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have launched separate efforts to clinch the key slot.