A DISPUTE has been simmering between the government and the auditor general of Pakistan for almost a year now. Last week, tensions reached a boiling point.

The National Assembly has now decided to activate the removal procedure against the present AGP Akhtar Buland Rana.

The grounds given for seeking his removal do not inspire confidence. Mr Rana has raised questions regarding the Rs480bn retirement of the circular debt in the early days of the present PML-N government, as well as a Rs5bn anomaly in the tendering of civil works in the Neelum Jhelum project, which occurred in the days of the PPP government. He has, therefore, earned the ire of the Public Accounts Committee members hailing from both parties.

Around the same time as he raised these questions, the PAC charged him with misusing a government transport monetisation policy, under which he allegedly drew Rs100,000 as transport allowance but continued to avail himself of the use of an official vehicle. Many others in government service are also believed to have committed similar violations, so the selective investigation of the AGP arouses suspicion that he is being targeted for his probes. It would be better for the PAC members to clear their position on these points instead of searching for ways to intimidate and silence those raising questions.

For his part, Mr Rana has not helped his position by his refusal to appear before the PAC. Whatever his reservations regarding the motivations of the PAC members, he is duty-bound to appear before the committee and answer their questions. His alleged misuse of the transport policy is also regrettable, but that is a comparatively minor matter next to the issues he is raising, and should be easy to resolve simply by withdrawing the services of the official vehicle against an assurance that the policy will be strictly adhered to in future.

A healthy and functional democracy requires checks and balances built into the system, and autonomous bodies, such as the AGP, perform a vital function in bringing transparency and accountability to the system. Therefore, extreme care should be exercised in activating the extraordinary powers through which an officer of any autonomous body can be removed. Next to the seriousness of the questions raised by the AGP, the alleged misuse of the transport monetisation policy does not appear to be of proportionate seriousness. The PAC should reconsider its decision to seek his removal.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2014