AGP's appointment termed 'as per rules'

Directorate General Audit on Thursday termed the allegation levelled against newly appointed Auditor General of Pakistan, Akhter Buland Rana, baseless and politically motivated to malign his character.
"A totally non-issue is being fabricated as an issue not only to malign the character of the newly appointed Auditor General but also to defame the organisation which otherwise has a very excellent tract record," a top official of Directorate General Audit told APP while commenting on the controversies over the appointment.
Defending Rana's appointment on the post of Auditor General, the official said that at present, Rana was the senior most officer of the organisation and according the 18th Amendment, he has the right to assume the charges as head of the organisation. "If the government has appointed him on the post, what is wrong with it. He stands senior and has right for the post," he said.
He said the people who have been involved in this defaming campaign know that they were lying, adding that in character assassination, they have not only defamed the government but also breached the sanctity of the august post of Auditor General. The official said that the Akhter Buland Rana has been in services for last 36 years and there has not been even a single allegation against him and he has been known for his honesty and professionalism.
But, the sudden attempt of his character assassination tantamount to breaching the sanctity of the post of Auditor General, he said. He said that on the request of AG office, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has conducted inquiry against him but it could not find any foul-play, adding those involved in blame game should bring the FIA report to public to know what are the actual facts.
He said that the inquiry committees of the Auditor General office as well as the Establishment Division have also exonerated him of the charges of harassment levelled by a colleague.
On the issue of passports, he said that Rana was having only one valid passport adding as the others have been cancelled in sequence when the new passports were issued. He said that holding two valid passports is of course crime but if one has just one valid passport and cancelled old passports, it in no way is a crime. The officials further said that Rana was having just one National Identity Card adding that the charge of having more cards was baseless and build on the fact that he was also having old non-electronic identity card which has expired.
Further explaining, he said that holding dual nationality was legal according to the existing laws and many people were having this facility and if Rana was having the same facility how could it be against the law and rules. To a query, he said that the since the time duration of the post of Auditor General has been reduced from 5 to 4 years, there was no question of early retirement of the outgoing Auditor General, Tanvir Ali Agha.
It is pertinent to mention here that Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Wednesday opposed the appointment. Reacting to the media campaign over the issue, a government spokesman had regretted that a campaign had been unleashed in the media against the appointment of auditor general. He clarified that the official appointed was the senior most officers in BPS-22.