News Desk |
In a move that could have happened only in Pakistan, Faryal Talpur, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and one of the chief accused in the fake accounts case, and Sharjeel Memon, also facing a graft case, have been elected to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Sindh, a body which is meant to monitor the provincial government’s corruption.
The move is being heavily criticized by political stakeholders all across Pakistan. Talpur, sister of former president Asif Ali Zardari, is one of several people, including her brother, being investigated for having a hand in the creation and operation of several fake accounts at three local banks.
Shahbaz Sharif, PML-N chief and under-remand of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for a graft case that implicated him in Saaf Pani scheme, was appointed as PAC head of the National Assembly.
The case was recently shifted to an accountability court in Rawalpindi. Talpur and Zardari challenged the decision to shift the case to the Sindh High Court (SHC). The plea was rejected on 19th March. The opposition parties in Sindh have been demanding handing over the PAC to them.
Last week, in a demonstration outside the Sindh Assembly, the leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh and its allies MQM-P and the Grand Democratic Alliance had made strong statements against the Murad-led assembly’s “unethical” stance, “the Government of Sindh knows if it hands over its accountability to the opposition, it’s misappropriations will be exposed,” Opposition Leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi had said.
The appointment of graft accused politicians on the PAC is not an unusual feat. Shahbaz Sharif, PML-N chief and under-remand of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for a graft case that implicated him in Saaf Pani scheme, was appointed as PAC head of the National Assembly.
Read more: Protests in Sindh continue for PAC Chairmanship
Throughout his imprisonment, he was produced before the assembly at the committee sessions on the order of the speaker of the house by the NAB.