ISLAMABAD: The PML-N government has quietly sidelined the Auditor General of Pakistan to strengthen its control over officers auditing accounts of billions of rupees, but the AGP appears not willing to take the government actions lying down and reportedly plans to strike back.

A native of Multan, AGP Buland Akhtar Rana has been facing opposition from the PML-N leadership since his appointment in August 2011 by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Then leader of the opposition inthe National Assembly and now Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had resigned as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in November 2011 and appointment of Rana was one of the reasons for his decision.

In February, the government took away AGP`s power to appoint accountants general and assigned it to the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) working under the finance division.

Sources in the AGP told Dawn that the tussle between the PML-N government and AGP Rana started last year after the government released about Rs500 billion to independent power producers(IPPs) directly from the State Bank to ease power crisis. The AGP opposed the move and the Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR), Tahir Mehmood, a subordinate of the former, issued instructions to the SBP not to release funds directly to the government.

Consequently, the government suspended Mr Mehmood for allegedly violating discipline. He obtained a stay order against the decision, but the court`s ruling could not bring him back to the office till his retirement on April 5.

Because of the litigation, the AGPR had to spend last months of his 34-year service on benches outside the courtroom.

The court decided the matter a couple of days after his retirement, but it was too late.

At a time when the court was examining the suspension and sidelining of Mr Mehmood, the government curtailed the powers of the AGP and placed the office of AGPR under the control of the finance ministry. The government assigned the responsibility of appointing AGPR to the CGA.

The amendment made to the rules of 1974 in this regard was communicated to the AGP on Feb 17. It reads: `The Auditor General shall not make lateral interventions and transfers/postings in the offices under the control of Controller General of Accounts.

Soon after the amendment, CGA Farrah Ayub Tareen appointed on Feb 24 Arif Hussain as additional AGPR. Mr Hussain assumed charge on March 11.

But AGP Rana suspended Mr Hussain on April 1.

Before suspending the officer, Mr Rana in a March 19 letter questioned the CGA`s authority to transfer Mr Hussain without consultingthe AGP office.

In a reply the following day, the CGA said in a letter that under the office memorandum of Feb 17, `posting/transfer within the CGA organisation requires no consultation/endorsement from the AGP office` According to the sources, Mr Rana wanted to challenge the memorandum but for certain reason refrained from doing so.

However, a director general at the AGPR Punjab challenged the Feb 17 memorandum in the Islamabad High Court.

In his petition, DG Zahid Rasheed contended that the finance division recently tried to undermine the authority of officers of the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Services by claiming their indirect control. `The motive of the finance division is no secret. During the tenure of the last prime minister (Raja Pervez Ashraf) the AGPR stopped disbursement of development funds for his constituency by way of preaudit methodology prescribed by the AGP.

He said the federal budget was of around Rs3,400 billion and that of the provinces was also more or less the same.

Hence thousands of billions ofrupees passed throughthe mechanism of preand post-audit which was exclusively to be supervised by the AGP.

`The impugned office memorandum is an attempt to take away the basic mechanism of pre-audit from the control of AGP and give it to the finance ministry/executive. It is an attempt to put audit machinery under the administrative control of the executive to manoeuvre and create pores in the grants and disbursement of public money,` the petition said.

Economists are of the opinion that executive oversight of the regulatory body will weaken the audit mechanism.

Renowned economist Dr Ashfaq Hassan Khan told Dawn that the AGP had been given the constitutional cover in order to ensure an independent audit mechanism. `Under the Constitution, an AGP cannot be removed or sacked from the post before completing three years in the office.

In order to carry out fair and transparent audit of the national exchequer, the audit department must be independent and free from government influence, he added.

Despite repeated attempts, Rana Asad Amin, spokesman for the finance ministry, could not be contacted.