ISLAMABAD - Chairman Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Rana Tanveer Hussain has said that half of members in the Parliament are fake degree holders but we screw only ordinary government officers.
He was chairing a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee at the Parliament House in which matter related to irregular appointments in Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) was discussed.
The auditors informed the PAC that about 584 employees were hired during 2012-13 in the EPZA against different cadres in violations of the rules and regulations that caused a heavy loss to the public exchequer.
Secretary Industries and Production Jawad Rafique Malik informed the committee that out of the total 35 employees have already been terminated while 65 are on probation and they will also be showed the exit gate after completion of their probation period.
He said that matter regarding rest of the employees would be placed before the EPZA board for a decision but its meeting could not be convened due to unavailability of authority’s regular Chairman.
Senator Mushahid Husain Syed informed the committee that Sind High Court in a recent judgement has declared innocent to the management, which had engaged the subject employees.
The Chairman PAC and some other members asked the secretary to regularise the services of these employees and when sought opinion of the Auditor General of Pakistan Ajmal Gondal, he resisted the move and said that the matter should be referred back to DAC for taking an appropriate decision.
Rana Tanveer Hussain said that half of the members in Parliament are fake degree holders but we screw only ordinary government officers.
However, his stunning remarks were not appreciated by rest of the committee members and resultantly the Chairman PAC tried to give an impression that he remarked on a lighter note.
The matter of the illegal appointment of 504 employees in EPZA was later referred to the DAC for an appropriate decision.
Meanwhile, the Chairman PAC directed his staff to call Director General Federal Investigation Agency in next meeting to brief upon the performance on pending inquires.