ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Secretariat has requested the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to restrain Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Akhtar Buland Rana from carrying on his duties pending a reference before it for his removal from office.

The secretariat expressed apprehensions that the respondent (Mr Rana) might manipulate official records, thus compromising the allegations levelled against him, a source privy to the development told Dawn.

The reference was sent to the Supreme Court by the NA Secretariat on Aug 15 after it endorsed the recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). It charged Mr Rana with ‘misconduct’ for “pocketing about Rs4.7 million” as excess salary and privileges. The reference was sent to the SJC with a recommendation to remove Mr Rana from the post.

The reference was submitted after he was provided opportunity to appear before the PAC and clarify his position, but he never turned up.

SJC seeks specific allegations against Rana

The auditor general, being the holder of a constitutional office, can only be removed by the SJC under Article 209 of the Constitution.

On Thursday, a meeting of the SJC presided over by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk preferred not to restrain the respondent, though it asked the NA Secretariat to submit specific allegations if they have any against Mr Rana. The SJC also directed the AGP to withdraw a decision taken by his office not to appear before the PAC in future.

“No one is appearing on my behalf, rather I appeared in person,” Mr Rana said when asked by reporters whom he had engaged to represent him in the SJC.

He said the hearing was adjourned to Dec 11 after discussion about how to proceed with the case.

Additional attorneys general Waqar Rana and Afnan Kundi and deputy attorney general Khawaja Ahmed Hassan appeared as prosecutors.

On Sept 26, the SJC had issued a notice to AGP Rana to reply to allegations levelled in the reference against him.

Mr Rana had already furnished his reply. The SJC examined it at a meeting on Nov 17 and decided to summon him on Thursday (Nov 27).

Mr Rana was sworn in as the 17th AGP on Aug 27, 2011, by then chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, although he had sought a clarification from the presidency over the last PPP government’s choice.

The then opposition PML-N had also opposed the appointment of Mr Rana, accusing him of being a dual national and having faced allegations of sexual harassment. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had quit the post of chairman of the PAC over the issue.

Mr Rana again came into the limelight when he questioned the retiring, without pre-audit, of Rs480 billion circular debt in the energy sector by the PML-N government soon after coming to power last year.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2014