ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: The ad-hoc Public Accounts Committee has decided to review the case of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in the light of an application moved by him on Friday last during an ugly incident of storming of the room where the committee proceedings were in progress, the official sources of parliament house told Dawn on Monday.
A meeting of the PAC has been scheduled for Feb 26. It is not yet decided whether Chaudhry Shujaat will be summoned for personal hearing or not. Some of the Committee members are reported to have conveyed their concern to the higher-ups against the episode.
There was a confusion over the whole drama as some newspapers reported that the chairman PAC had sent a letter complaining the attitude of Chaudhry Shujaat, which was denied by the latter.
The matter was, however, reported verbally at the highest level and any action depends on the reaction by the government against, what a member of the committee requesting anonymity termed, “highhandedness of the same magnitude as the storming of the Supreme Court masterminded by Nawaz Sharif.”
The committee, the sources claimed, was under tremendous pressure from both the political leadership as well as the government functionaries, some in favour of recommending an action, others against it.
A feeling of resentment was found in the ranks of the establishment against the outbursts of the league leader against the army and civil bureaucracy, the sources said.
The sword of APAC’s anger, it may be mentioned has already fallen on those responsible for allowing the Chaudhry Shujaat led group inside the parliament house with suspension of seven lower grade security personnel on Saturday.
The sword of APC’s anger, it may be mentioned, has already fallen on those responsible for allowing the chaudhry-led group inside the parliament house, with the suspension of seven lower-grade security personnel.
Meanwhile, inside sources have revealed to Dawn that there is a sharp division among the members of the PAC, as one group led by chairman H.U. Beg is pleading for taking a lenient view after Chaudhry Shujaat’s apology, while the hawks led by Lt-Gen Talat Masood are pressing for recommending a stern action.
In the meanwhile, Gen Talat Masood told Dawn that Mr Beg was handling the case but “in our view Ch Shujaat had disturbed and demolished the sanctity of the committee by his incursion which ought to be taken notice of.”
He said the government was well aware of the whole thing as it happened in the presence of secretary interior and the sleuths of various agencies and must have been reported accordingly.
He said the mentality and culture of intimidation in politics should be discouraged by all means. He criticised Chaudhry Shujaat’s plea that the secretaries were responsible of all wrongs of ministers.
