ISLAMABAD: In a recent political development, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) member national assembly (MNA) Junaid Akbar has been elected unopposed as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The nomination was proposed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief whip Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and seconded by Senator Afnan Ullah and Rana Qasim Noon of the same party.
Additionally, the opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz also supported Junaid Akbar’s nomination.
As per parliamentary conventions formed after the 2008 general elections, the chairmanship of PAC is usually allocated to the opposition, which continues to date.
Amongst the most powerful parliamentary bodies, with the power to summon any person or evidence from government departments with regard to financial matters, PAC conducted its elections after quorum was complete, and PTI Chief Whip Aamir Dogar, Riaz Fatyana, Wajiha Qamar, Sardar Yousuf Zaman, and so forth all supported Junaid Akbar.
The PTI had initially nominated MNA Sher Afzal Marwat for the chairmanship but changed their mind and nominated Sheikh Waqas Akram instead, as Akram is their spokesperson, but in the end, Akbar was elected to the post, having received the nomination by PTI founder chairman Imran Khan and the party.
The nomination to the post of PAC chairmanship caused a split within the ranks of the former ruling party when Sher Afzal Marwat refused to cooperate with senior party leaders after his name was taken down from consideration for the position.
Marwat went as far as charging PTI Chief Secretary Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz with conspiracies to stop him from meeting Imran Khan, resulting in his expulsion from PTI’s core and political committees on Imran’s orders.² Even now, the election of Junaid Akbar as the PAC chairman is viewed as a milestone, with his promise to perform those duties in keeping with the highest standards.
