PAC warns of action if NAB chairman does not appear before it by Nov 29

• Noor Alam Khan says if the NAB chairman does not appear before the NA body by November 29, then the panel will exercise its powers.
• The meeting was held to examine the appropriation of NAB accounts from 2010-17 and its audit paras from 2011 to 2017.
• The PAC Sub-Committee defers the examination of the audit objections of the NAB due to the absence of the Principal Accounting Officer.

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Monday warned of action if National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal does not appear before the panel till November 29.

Presiding over the Sub-Committee of the PAC, Noor Alam Khan said that if the NAB chairman does not appear before the NA body by November 29, then he will exercise his powers, The News reported. 

The NAB chairman’s refusal to appear before the PAC despite repeated summons annoyed the members of the sub-committee who warned the panel will exercise its powers against him.

The meeting of the Sub-committee of the PAC was held to examine the appropriation of NAB accounts from 2010-17 and its audit paras from 2011 to 2017 and those related to National Disaster Management Authority from 2015-18.

Expressing his annoyance over the non-attendance of chairman NAB, who is also its Principal Accounts Officer (PAO), the convener of PAC subcommittee assured the chairman NAB that no personal attacks will be made against him but only replies to the audit objections about the audit paras will be sought. 

"The chairman NAB should not be afraid of coming to Parliament," he said. 

Alam said if the chairman cannot come, the PAO will have to appear before the PAC. “Let me know in written when the principal accounts officer would appear and if you do not, then I will use my powers,” he told the NAB officers attending the meeting, who sought some time for preparations.

Committee member Naveed Qamar said, “It was not acceptable to ignore the parliament.” 

Convener of the PAC Sub-committee Noor Alam Khan further said he would personally welcome the NAB chairman. 

Later, at the request of Khawaja Asif and Naveed Qamar, Noor Alam Khan, gave the NAB's PAO one week to appear before the committee.

Earlier, NAB officials told the committee that the DG looks after the affairs of NAB accounts and the anti-graft body has sent a summary for the appointment of a separate officer for the PAC. 

The DG NAB sought a three to four weeks period to find a solution to this issue after which Khawaja Asif said they must be given proper time, otherwise, PAC will take its own line of action.

The Sub-committee of PAC gave one week to NAB till November 29 and warned that if the principal accounting officer does not turn up before PAC, it will take the future line of action.