Under normal circumstances, the ongoing face-off between the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly and Akhtar Buland Rana, the auditor general of Pakistan (AGP), would have surely made front page news and been the talk of the town on primetime TV shows.

But the unique saga, pitching one of the most powerful house committees against the AGP, seems to have been lost in the headlines somewhere, overshadowed by the controversy around the Azadi and Inquilaab marches.

After all, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is calling for the prime minister’s resignation over alleged electoral rigging in the 2013 general elections. Conceding some ground, the government has decided to probe the PTI allegations through the Supreme Court and has asked the chief justice to constitute a three-judge commission to investigate the allegations.

But the PTI chief seems adamant in demanding the removal of the prime minister. And in view of his own troubles with the ruling party, it seems Mr Akhtar Buland Rana might just be rooting for Imran Khan on this one.

The AGP’s troubles began in March of this year, when the PAC took notice of a substantial increase in his salary. To ascertain the facts, PAC Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah – who is also the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly – constituted a special two-member investigation committee, consisting of the ruling party’s Mohammad Junaid A. Chaudhry and Dr Arif Alvi of the PTI. The two met with nearly all relevant departments: the accountant general of Pakistan for Revenue, the finance and establishment divisions and the law ministry.

During the probe, a special meeting was also held with constitutional experts, including Aitzaz Ahsan. Mr Ahsan was asked if the PAC, as a parliamentary committee, could actually take action against Mr Rana, who holds a constitutional position as AGP. Under the Constitution, the holder of a constitutional position can only be removed from office by invoking Article 209 of the Constitution through proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council.

After receiving input from all concerned, the committee repeatedly invited Mr Rana for a personal hearing, but he refused. As a result, the two-member committee completed its report early last month and presented it before the PAC. In its report, the committee confirmed that Mr Rana obtained extra perks and privileges by misusing his official position, which undermined the dignity of his office.

Mr Rana is no stranger to controversy. In August 2011, then-president Asif Ali Zardari had to come to Mr Rana’s rescue when his appointment was challenged because of his dual (Canadian) nationality and allegations of sexual harassment.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who was chairman of the PAC at the time, raised the issue when former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appointed Mr Rana to the post of AGP.

As a result, former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry refused to administer the oath to Mr Rana, instead seeking a clarification from the presidency. Mr Zardari had to issue a notification explaining that a dual national could hold the position of AGP.

Mr Rana was also exonerated from charges of harassment, the president had clarified, clearing the way for his appointment as AGP. Not happy with the appointment, Chaudhry Nisar Ali had quit as PAC chairman.

When the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz took power, Mr Rana was in the news again when he questioned the clearance of circular debt by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

His argument was that the government cannot – without a pre-audit of receiving companies – dole out a mammoth Rs480 billion, a stance that creating bad blood between his office and the government.

However, his jaw-dropping move came on August 5, when he refused to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). His stance was that Mr Shah, the incumbent PAC chairman, had been a cabinet minister during the previous regime of the Pakistan People’s Party. As such, Mr Rana maintained, he could not take up audit reports concerning government spending from his time in office. “It will be a simple conflict of interest, which is why I have decided that the office of the AGP will not appear before the committee,” Mr Rana had announced.

In what many dubbed a fitting response, for the first time in the country’s parliamentary history, the National Assembly charged Mr Rana with “misconduct” for pocketing around Rs4.6 million, on August 11. The house also demanded his removal through a presidential reference to the Supreme Judicial Council.

According to one of the PAC members, Mr Rana, by refusing to appear before the PAC, had committed “professional suicide”. Before his refusal to work with PAC, there were chances of his survival. But following the unanimous passage of a unanimous National Assembly resolution against him, “Mr Rana is now a gone case”.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2014