The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Junaid Akbar Khan, on Thursday strongly criticised proposed discretionary powers in the Finance Division’s draft honoraria policy, describing them as “Mughal emperor-style” privileges.
The remarks came during a meeting that also saw the formation of three new PAC sub-committees and the review of several audit objections.
The committee raised objections over the disbursement of Rs240 million in honorariums to Finance Division employees during fiscal year 2022–23 without an approved policy.
PAC member Riaz Fatyana questioned the justification for such payments, stating, “Preparing the budget is their fundamental duty — why are they getting honorariums?” He called the selective allocation of bonuses a violation of the Constitution.
Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal informed the committee that a new honoraria policy was drafted and approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in June 2022 but is still awaiting federal cabinet approval. The policy allows the federal secretary to award one month’s salary to all employees and an additional month’s pay to 25% of them, with two special honoraria also permitted.
However, under the draft, the ECC chairman — who is also the federal finance minister — would be empowered to grant up to five months’ salaries as “special honoraria.” Committee members condemned this provision, likening it to extravagant discretionary powers of emperors and urging its removal.
Bosal noted that 60 departments currently receive budgeted honoraria, not just the finance ministry.
The PAC also expressed alarm over Rs58 billion in lapsed economic affairs grants, with Chairman Junaid Akbar remarking that “the situation is almost the same in every ministry,” and questioning the Finance Division’s fund utilisation.
Additionally, PAC reviewed an audit objection regarding financial losses caused by robbery and embezzlement at the Regional Directorate of National Savings Centers in Karachi. The discussion prompted a light-hearted remark from the chair: “Also tell us the method to recover money from the robbers!”
In a significant move, PAC requested a detailed report from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on all cases referred to them by the committee over the past five years.
“NAB and FIA should inform us how many cases the committee has referred in the past five years and what their current status is,” said Chairman Junaid Akbar.
Meanwhile, the PAC announced the formation of three sub-committees. The first will be headed by Tariq Fazal Chaudhry with members Sanaullah Khan Masti Khel, Rana Qasim Noon, and Hina Rabbani Khar.
The second will be led by Syed Naveed Qamar, joined by Shibli Faraz, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, and Moeen Amir Pirzada.
The third sub-committee will be chaired by Malik Amir Dogar, with Shazia Marri, Riaz Fatyana, and Afnan Ullah Khan as members.
The meeting ended with calls for stricter financial discipline, policy transparency, and enhanced accountability to prevent the misuse of public funds.
