Having a penchant for creating unnecessary controversies, the PTI government has stirred up a fresh altercation with the PML-N over the appointment of Leader of the Opposition, Shahbaz Sharif, as Chairman of the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC). It may be recalled that last December, the ruling party had agreed, though after much resistance, to give that position to Sharif. It is now trying to backtrack. Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the other day that the government was looking for some legal way to remove him as PAC head because, according to the minister, whilst facing corruption charges before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) the PML-N president was summoning the anti-graft watchdog's officials to committee meetings which "shows he wants to be protected behind the shield of the PAC." It may not look right for Sharif to summon officials of the same body which is conducting investigations into corruption charges against him; that though cannot shield him from the ongoing accountability process.
Besides, the objection makes little practical sense considering that parliamentary committees are formed on the basis of numerical strength of each political party. The ruling PTI has a majority of representatives in them, and hence an upper hand in making decisions. As per a parliamentary tradition, the Leader of the Opposition heads the PAC. Yet the government had wasted a lot of time opposing the appointment. It finally gave in so the business of Parliament could be conducted in a proper manner, though on the condition that Sharif would not preside over the examination of the Auditor General's reports for his party's previous government. After all that fuss and resolution of the issue, it is difficult to understand the present change of stance. It can only lead to a serious confrontation with the opposition, which is in no one's interest. PML-N leader Khwaja Asif has warned that any such move would "make matters worse. ... We have the capacity to disrupt the functioning of the government." In this, the Nawaz League also has on its side the other major opposition party, the PPP.
Creditably for him, the National Assembly Speaker, Asad Qaiser, has been handling the troublesome situation wisely. He has regularly been issuing production orders for both Shahbaz Sharif and former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique - the latter too is remanded in NAB custody. He has also rightly held back, in deference to routine practice, on the government nomination of a sitting minister, its firebrand ally Sheikh Rashid, as a member of the PAC. Even as his nomination hanged in the balance, Rashid had announced his intention to hold forth on the committee proceedings in parallel with its chairman. The squabble over the two PAC-related issues can only further vitiate the political atmosphere. For its own good, the government needs to ensure smooth running of the parliamentary affairs by following parliamentary traditions.