LAHORE, May 13: The Public Accounts Committee-I of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday asked Federal Interior Secretary Tasnim Noorani to pay for the phone calls he had made over and above his prescribed limit as Punjab education secretary in 1998-99.

A committee meeting chaired by Azeem Noori Ghumman observed that the official had acted beyond his authority by using the phone over and above the prescribed limit. He was directed to pay Rs152,362.

It showed no-confidence in the audit report regarding utilization of budget by the department in the year 1998-99. It directed the finance department as well as the auditor-general to re-audit the accounts within 90 days, apprehending that there were misappropriations worth millions of rupees which had somehow been concealed by the officials concerned.

It also sought re-validation of facts regarding the use of Rs5.7 million funds allocated for Mandi Bahauddin district by an administrative secretary. The committee suspected that bogus vouchers had been submitted regarding the use of the funds for various projects.

The PAC also directed that a special audit of the Lahore Education Board be undertaken within three months. It also sought recovery of phone bills worth Rs469,000 from the board secretary for misuse of the facility.