Asks NAB to vacate G-5 office: PAC seeks 10-year record of Toshakhana gifts

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday sought the 10-year record of Toshakhana gifts from the Cabinet Division, given from dignitaries of foreign states, and gave 15 days to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to vacate its allegedly illegal occupied G-5 office.

In case the order is ignored, the office will be forcefully vacated through police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The committee also sought proof against former governor of Sindh and housing minister in Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) government for illegal issuance of allegedly illegal allotment letters to retired government officials of government accommodations in Karachi.

Noor Alam Khan chaired the meeting of the PAC on Tuesday and examined the Ministry of Housing and Works for the year 2019-20.

The Auditor General of Pakistan disclosed to the committee that the Cabinet Division refused to provide the record of Toshakhana to audit officials under “access to information act” despite directives from the PAC.

The scope of audit was earlier limited to seven years but extended to 10 years following objection raised by member from PTI Mohsin Aziz. He suggested it should be for all years not any specific years.

The chairman committee said it came to the notice of the committee that replica of the gifts was also given from Toshakhana and various incidents were recorded that gifts were received in the name of persons without their knowledge.

As per the country’s law, any gift received from dignitaries of a foreign state must be put in the state depository or the Toshakhana.

While examining the audit para related to non-eviction of government office building from unauthorised occupation by the NAB that caused Rs120 million losses, the committee directed the chairman NAB or the deputy chairman NAB respond to audit objection.

The audit observed that previously there was a NAB office in the building which was shifted to their own building in Sector G-5, Islamabad. The estate office issued various notices to the NAB office for vacating the Prime Ministers Inspection Commission (PIMC) Building and handing over its possession to the allottees through Pak-PWD inquiry office, Islamabad. Due to lack of strenuous efforts by the estate office Islamabad a loss of about Rs120 million was sustained.

The committee was further apprised that 4,087 houses were under unauthorised occupations in Karachi since 1971. Around 330 houses had been vacated and recovery against 200 occupants had been started from their pension through the AGPR. It also included rent of 217 shops and nine petrol pumps. The department apprised that they had recovered Rs3 million.

The officials of the Ministry of Housing disclosed that on 23 October 2018 during the government of the PTI, an effort was made to get the government accommodations vacated but a law and order situation was created. The government then decided to resolve the issue through meaningful dialogue. Another official, however, revealed that former governor Sindh constituted a committee for the resolution and some of the illegal occupants were also allotted allotment letters by the than minister for housing.

The committee decided to write letters to the provincial government of Sindh to get government accommodations vacated from illegal occupants.

The PAC chairman further directed to amend hiring rules by the estate department of federal government housing that the pension would be stopped in case the retired government employee would not submit NOC that he had vacated the accommodation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022