PAC spends more time on non-issues than audit objections.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) witnessed serious political arguments on Thursday and spent more time on non-issues than on audit objections.

Senator Shibli Faraz of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) accused members of a political party of defending the audit objections over misappropriations or malpractices conducted during the time their party was in power.

Without naming the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he suggested that the members should leave the meeting when audit objections were discussed of the period when they were in power.

Naveed Qamar of the Pakistan Peoples Party said that objections raised by Shibli Faraz and other PTI members were not valid, adding that if a parliamentarian was associated with any audit objection, he/she should not head that particular meeting. Such objections were also raised against the prime minister, he added.

Rana Tanvir Hussain of the PML-N said that many ministers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab were under investigation by various agencies so the PTI members should not make this demand.

'We must not make a mockery of parliament and turn it into a comedy club,' he said.

Khawaja Asif of the PML-N and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf of the PPP said that the PAC was not a political forum but belonged to parliament and members had always discussed issues rising above party lines.

Khawaja Asif said the difference between the environment in the National Assembly and that of the PAC...