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Auditor General of Pakistan Knocks Court Door Against Illegitimate Interference of Ishaq Dar....Asks for Security
IHC directs govt not to interfere in AGP’s mandate
Faisal Kamal PashaSaturday, July 19, 2014
From Print Edition
90 7 3 0
ISLAMABAD: Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Friday directed the federal government not to interfere in the domain of Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Muhammad Akhtar Buland Rana, after the former had contended before the court that the government had been interfering in his administrative functions.
AGP Rana through a petition before the IHC had prayed that the respondents might be restrained from interfering in the administrative functions of the petitioner as Cadre Head of Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service (PA&AS) and the constitutional powers of the petitioner regarding audit of spending from Public Accounts and Federal Consolidated Fund might not be interfered. Further, the federal interior minister might be ordered for providing entitled security to the petitioner. The court here on Friday allowed all his prayers.
Petitioner Rana in his petition expressed his apprehension that he might be sacked to pave way for Controller General of Accounts (CGA) Farah Tarin to be appointed as next AGP. He contended that his constitutional mandate had been stolen away by placing the department of CGA in the control of finance ministry along side all officers working in it from his administrative control.
The IHC bench here on Friday issued notices to the respondents Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, CGA Farah Tarin, Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood, additional secretary and an adviser to the Ministry of Finance with directions to submit reply within a fortnight. The IHC judge further directed the respondents not to interfere in the administrative functions of the AGP.
Legal counsel for the petitioner adopted before the court that the government had planned to eliminate his client to place CGA Farah Tarin as next AGP. Since Farah Tarin was going to retire on August 13, 2014 so he might be sacked before this time.
The counsel further argued that the AGP was a tenure post and his client would get retired on August 27, 2015. AGP could not be removed from his post without the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) directions as envisaged in Article 209 of the Constitution.
In the petition, AGP Rana while nominating Federation of Pakistan through secretary establishment, Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, secretary finance division, Mrs Farah Tarin CGA, Rana Asad Amin, adviser to Ministry of Finance, Shabbir Ahmad, additional secretary Ministry of Finance, Jahangir Watto, an officer of Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service working in the AGP Office and the minister of interior as respondents, adopted before the court that by placing CGA under Ministry of Finance, the government had made audits for expenses a difficult job.
The petitioner told the court that he was cadre head of the PA&AS. AGP is a tenure post for four years and it is not under the administrative control of the executive.CGA Farah Tarin is a Grade 22 officer from amongst the PA&AS. The petitioner is Cadre Head/Administrator for the CGA while the incumbent CGA was appointed by the secretary establishment, federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar and secretary Finance Division without formal consultation of the petitioner as Cadre Head and she was not eligible for the post.
Later the respondents started interfering in the powers of the petitioner by one way or the other for undermining the financial-watchman authority of office of the petitioner and also launched a smearing campaign against him on the basis of frivolous issues of taking extra salary etc.
The petitioner felt himself handicapped when his machinery for audit was made hostile to him. CGA that was under the administrative control of the petitioner was made subordinate department of Ministry of Finance and the CGA along with all officers working in it was obliged to work under the administrative control of the federal minister for finance and secretary finance division. The methods and principles of audit determined by the petitioner became literally impracticable because more than 90 percent of audit was done by the petitioner through pre-audit mechanism which was made through accounts officers by making audit of sanctions of funds as well as spending.
The petitioner had been made helpless by the federal minister for finance, secretary finance division and CGA Mrs Farah Tarin, as he had no machinery for stopping ongoing unchecked financial spending in the country for the only reason that his constitutional mandate had been stolen away.
The petitioner expressed his apprehension that the respondents were planning to either book the petitioner in some false and bogus case through Police or FIA or to assassinate the petitioner because imprisonment or death of the petitioner was now the only shortcut way for appointing Mrs Tarin as the new AGP. The reported threat to life or liberty of the petitioner gets corroboration from the fact that the government has removed his entitled/authorised security.
IHC directs govt not to interfere in AGP’s mandate
Faisal Kamal PashaSaturday, July 19, 2014
From Print Edition
90 7 3 0
ISLAMABAD: Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Friday directed the federal government not to interfere in the domain of Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Muhammad Akhtar Buland Rana, after the former had contended before the court that the government had been interfering in his administrative functions.
AGP Rana through a petition before the IHC had prayed that the respondents might be restrained from interfering in the administrative functions of the petitioner as Cadre Head of Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service (PA&AS) and the constitutional powers of the petitioner regarding audit of spending from Public Accounts and Federal Consolidated Fund might not be interfered. Further, the federal interior minister might be ordered for providing entitled security to the petitioner. The court here on Friday allowed all his prayers.
Petitioner Rana in his petition expressed his apprehension that he might be sacked to pave way for Controller General of Accounts (CGA) Farah Tarin to be appointed as next AGP. He contended that his constitutional mandate had been stolen away by placing the department of CGA in the control of finance ministry along side all officers working in it from his administrative control.
The IHC bench here on Friday issued notices to the respondents Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, CGA Farah Tarin, Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood, additional secretary and an adviser to the Ministry of Finance with directions to submit reply within a fortnight. The IHC judge further directed the respondents not to interfere in the administrative functions of the AGP.
Legal counsel for the petitioner adopted before the court that the government had planned to eliminate his client to place CGA Farah Tarin as next AGP. Since Farah Tarin was going to retire on August 13, 2014 so he might be sacked before this time.
The counsel further argued that the AGP was a tenure post and his client would get retired on August 27, 2015. AGP could not be removed from his post without the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) directions as envisaged in Article 209 of the Constitution.
In the petition, AGP Rana while nominating Federation of Pakistan through secretary establishment, Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, secretary finance division, Mrs Farah Tarin CGA, Rana Asad Amin, adviser to Ministry of Finance, Shabbir Ahmad, additional secretary Ministry of Finance, Jahangir Watto, an officer of Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service working in the AGP Office and the minister of interior as respondents, adopted before the court that by placing CGA under Ministry of Finance, the government had made audits for expenses a difficult job.
The petitioner told the court that he was cadre head of the PA&AS. AGP is a tenure post for four years and it is not under the administrative control of the executive.CGA Farah Tarin is a Grade 22 officer from amongst the PA&AS. The petitioner is Cadre Head/Administrator for the CGA while the incumbent CGA was appointed by the secretary establishment, federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar and secretary Finance Division without formal consultation of the petitioner as Cadre Head and she was not eligible for the post.
Later the respondents started interfering in the powers of the petitioner by one way or the other for undermining the financial-watchman authority of office of the petitioner and also launched a smearing campaign against him on the basis of frivolous issues of taking extra salary etc.
The petitioner felt himself handicapped when his machinery for audit was made hostile to him. CGA that was under the administrative control of the petitioner was made subordinate department of Ministry of Finance and the CGA along with all officers working in it was obliged to work under the administrative control of the federal minister for finance and secretary finance division. The methods and principles of audit determined by the petitioner became literally impracticable because more than 90 percent of audit was done by the petitioner through pre-audit mechanism which was made through accounts officers by making audit of sanctions of funds as well as spending.
The petitioner had been made helpless by the federal minister for finance, secretary finance division and CGA Mrs Farah Tarin, as he had no machinery for stopping ongoing unchecked financial spending in the country for the only reason that his constitutional mandate had been stolen away.
The petitioner expressed his apprehension that the respondents were planning to either book the petitioner in some false and bogus case through Police or FIA or to assassinate the petitioner because imprisonment or death of the petitioner was now the only shortcut way for appointing Mrs Tarin as the new AGP. The reported threat to life or liberty of the petitioner gets corroboration from the fact that the government has removed his entitled/authorised security.
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