Pakistan: PAC urges politicians, judges, and generals for uniform practice on toll payment

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 2 (ANI): The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) directed that toll tax should be collected from all individuals, including politicians, and judges while the only exception to this rule will be for armed forces and police personnel who are on duty, reported the Dawn.

“No one should be exempt, including judges and generals visiting their homes and taking private trips,” said PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan on Tuesday. He also emphasised that VIPs should not cause motorways to be closed due to their movement and that nobody is above the law or the Constitution, reported Dawn.
“It is essential to eliminate “VIP culture” to ensure political and economic stability in the country,” added Noor.

During the committee meeting, the secretary for the Ministry of Communications Muhammad Khurram Agha informed the members that legislators had previously been exempt from paying toll tax on the directive of Parliament. However, the exemption has been lifted and legislators are now being asked to pay the toll tax.
“We are bound by the PAC’s directives,” the secretary, Muhammad Khurram Agha, said.

The PAC members expressed concern over the non-appearance by the Director General of the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) despite repeated requests and summoned him to the next meeting, reported Dawn.

The PAC reviewed the audit paras for 2020-21 and 2021-22 of the ministry of communications.

The committee noted that there were instances where funds had lapsed. However, the ministry claimed that these lapses were not deliberate.

The committee further noted that in some cases, funds were not released in time, while in one case, the amount that lapsed was negligible.