LAHORE: The Public Accounts Committee-I of the Punjab Assembly has unearthed financial irregularities worth billions of rupees in the provincial information department and decided to bar the officials concerned from working in their offices.

A PAC meeting held with opposition leader Mian Mahmoodur Rashid in the chair here on Thursday took a serious notice of Rs3.65 billion irregularities in the accounts of the information department.

The information authorities had made Rs3.65 billion payments in violation of rules and regulations. Taking a notice of the irregularity, says Mr Rashid, it was decided to summon the secretaries of law and services & general administration departments next month.

It also prepared recommendations for barring those involved in the wrongdoings from continuing with their duties.

He says that an FIR (53-12) had been registered with the Anti-Corruption Establishment against some officials of the information department back in 2012 but no inquiry was initiated into the case despite passage of three years.

It was decided to summon the ACE director general and secretaries of two departments for failing to do the needful.