MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly Secretariat has been inveigling the Accountant General’s (AG) Office into releasing funds for a foreign junket of legislators on the basis of a notification that an official said on Monday had been rescinded.

According to the documents seen by Dawn, the LA Secretariat wrote to the AG Office on March 3 for advance withdrawal of Rs9.5 million for a weeklong tour to the United States and Canada, which it said would take place in the second week of March.

A notification, issued by the LA Secretariat in October last year and annexed with the request stated that the delegation comprising nine legislators -- Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq Khan, senior minister Chaudhry Mohammad Yasin, minister for elementary education Mian Abdul Waheed, minister for electricity Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, minister for transport Tahir Khokhar and MLA Sardar Abid Hussain from government and Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, Syed Shaukat Ali Shah and Ms Mehrun Nisa from opposition – and LA secretary Chaudhry Basharat Hussain would “highlight Kashmir issue and study the political system” during its 3-nights each stay in the US and Canada.

Prior to that, the LA Secretariat had also got clearance of the ‘ways and means’ (available resources) from the Finance Department on February 26.

However, the AG Office returned the request on March 9, saying that the notification should have been issued by the Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) instead of the LA Secretariat.

The LA Secretariat re-sent its request on March 17, maintaining that the assembly had nothing to do with the S&GAD because the legislature was an independent institution, having its own finance committee.

However, the assertion cut no ice with the AG Office, which reiterated its earlier stance in its rejoinder on March 20.

In the latest attempt, the LA Secretariat wrote to the AG Office on March 25: “There are no rules for foreign tours of parliamentary delegations. However, the ‘drawing and disbursing officer’ of the Assembly has issued sanction in this regard. Furthermore, the notification (of October) also enjoys concurrence of the (Assembly’s) finance committee.”

The AG Office was yet to respond to it, but there were chances of it sticking to its initial stand, sources confided to Dawn.

When contacted by Dawn, LA Secretary Hussain gave conflicting statements.

“We are yet to decide which countries we have to visit. We have written to the AG office, with the concurrence of the Finance Department, seeking release of our budget,” he said.

In response to a question, he said: “It’s not the mandate of the AG Office to question the purpose of visit or anything else about it.”

To another question, he said last October’s notification was issued (only) to claim funds from the AG Office.

“That notification has been rescinded. Formation of actual delegation as well as other allied tasks, such as visas, will be carried out after transfer of funds to the LA Secretariat,” he maintained.

Sources told Dawn a new notification had been clandestinely issued, excluding the name of two opposition lawmakers - Mr Farooq and Ms Nisa

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2015

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