ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed irritation over the absence of federal interior secretary at a meeting on Friday.

The meeting was held at the Parliament House and presided over by its chairman, Nadeem Afzal Chan, in order to discuss the issues of the ministries of interior and climate change.

The additional interior secretary informed the committee that Interior Secretary K.M. Siddiq Akbar had gone to Polyclinic for checkup after suffering chest pain, and was therefore unable to attend the meeting.

The committee member, Hamid Yar Hiraj, who belongs to Pakistan Muslim League, refused to accept the excuse and claimed that the secretary was absent deliberately. He also said Federal Minister for Interior Rehman Malik and his secretary could not be trusted.

Hiraj added that the additional secretary was handling all business of the ministry and recommended that he be promoted to federal secretary.

He also suggested that members should visit the hospital to inquire after the health of the federal secretary.

Another committee member, Noor Alam Khan, from the Pakistan Peoples Party, also expressed concern over the absence of the interior secretary and added that he was frequently absent from his office.

The chairman declared that if secretary interior would remain absent from PAC meetings, they will have no choice but to send a letter asking the Speaker National Assembly to take action against him or exempt him from attending meetings.