Sher Afzal Marwat’s election as PAC chairman in the doldrums

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) Secretariat has decided against making Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) Sher Afzal Marwat Chairman Public Accounts Committee (PAC), maintaining that there is no binding to elect only an opposition member for the slot, ARY News reported citing well-informed sources.

Noor Alam Khan of the Maulana Fazalur Rehman-led Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) is likely to be elected as the PAC Chairman by the parliament, the sources privy to the development said. Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq will make the financial decision soon.

The NA Secretariat maintained that as per the law and rules of the house, any member belonging to the treasury and opposition can be made the PAC chairman. The sources claimed that JUI-F’s Noor Alam Khan, who had earlier served as the PAC Chairman after a successful vote of no confidence against then Prime Minister Imran, is the front-runner for the slot.

The National Assembly and the Senate, meet jointly to form the PAC . Members of the National Assembly and the Senate elect the PAC’s members. Then the PAC members elects its chairman to lead the committee.

Noor Alam Khan was notified for the post during the last tenure after developing differences with his then party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Earlier on March 27, PTI leader Ali Muhammad Khan said that party founder Imran Khan has nominated Sher Afzal Marwat as the candidate for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman’s role.

Speaking at ARY News programme ‘Off the Record’, the former federal minister said that the PAC chairman slot was the prerogative of the opposition and there is currently ‘only one’ opposition party in the parliament.

Responding to a question, Ali Muhammad Khan denied knowledge of reports suggesting that the National Assembly (NA) Speaker has refused to make Sher Afzal Marwat the Chairman of PAC.