ISLAMABAD:
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday came down hard on the planning ministry over massive financial irregularities, untraceable grants and apparent administrative dysfunction.
The meeting, chaired by Junaid Akbar Khan, scrutinised audit objections related to the ministry’s financial performance.
In a shocking revelation, it emerged that the supplementary grants issued by the planning ministry exceeded the original grant by a staggering 134%. The revelation sparked outrage from members. “These figures make no sense. Is there any planning at all in the Planning Division?” Naveed Qamar asked.
Committee member Riaz Fatyana lamented that every fourth person in the country was unemployed, and yet there was no coherent thinking on human development. “The audit paras are a disaster. This ministry might as well be shut down,” he added.
Junaid Akbar questioned whether the ministry had lost both financial and administrative control. “And if this is the state of the planning ministry, what should we expect from other ministries?” he asked.
The committee resolved to initiate formal inquiries into several audit objections, with reports to be submitted within a month.
A tense moment arose when committee member Sardar Sanaullah Mastikhel demanded full disclosure of perks and salaries of not just politicians, but also senior officers from all key state institutions, including Grade 22 bureaucrats, military generals and Supreme Court judges.
