On Tuesday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was informed that 68 small dams in Sindh had suffered some damage as a result of the most recent rains. One dam was demolished in the floods, according to the officials of the Sindh Irrigation Department, however, it was an ancient dam built in 1972.
The committee was informed by Lt Gen (Retd) Sajjad Ghani, Chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), that although the most recent floods were the worst in Pakistan’s history, damage to water-related infrastructure was not significant and would soon be repaired .
The Supreme Court registrar had refused to give the audit officials information about the dam fund, according to representatives from the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Office, who briefed the committee. Noor Alam Khan, the chairman of the committee, said that the registrar was required to give the audit department access to the pertinent information.
He gave the order to draught a letter outlining the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) duties, authority, and purview for the registrar. The previous chief justice of Pakistan (CJP), Mian Saqib Nisar, not appearing before the committee also angered the committee chairman. At a committee meeting in August, it was decided to call former Pakistani CJP Mian Saqib Nisar to give an update on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam Fund.
Khan stated that the committee would once more ask the former chief justice to testify and give a briefing on the dam fund. The former chief justice does not have immunity, he said and might be questioned or called before the committee. Barjees Tahir, a committee member, claimed during a prior meeting that while the dam fund collected Rs. 9 billion, its advertising campaign alone cost Rs. 14 billion.
