ISLAMABAD: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Junaid Akbar has resigned from his post, confirming that the decision was made on the instructions of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and the party’s political committee.
Speaking to reporters, Junaid Akbar — a PTI MNA — said he had sent his resignation to the party’s chief whip Malik Aamir Dogar.
Alongside his resignation, five other PTI lawmakers — Zar Muhammad Khan, Fazal Muhammad Khan, Ali Asghar Khan, Mohammad Iqbal Afridi, and Maulana Naseem Ali Shah — also stepped down from their memberships of National Assembly standing committees.
The development comes a day after Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned in Adiala Jail, instructed PTI leaders not to contest the upcoming by-elections and to withdraw from all parliamentary committees.
Following her meeting with the former premier in jail, Khan’s sister Aleema Khan told reporters that the PTI founder had directed the party to boycott the by-polls, arguing that contesting them would grant legitimacy to what he described as a “flawed electoral process.” She added that while Khan’s stance was clear, differing views within the party would also be considered.
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PTI to lose control of 13 committees
Parliament currently has a total of 84 committees — 43 in the National Assembly (standing and special) and 41 in the Senate.
With Junaid Akbar’s resignation, PTI has lost control of one of the five committees it heads in the National Assembly. The remaining PTI-chaired panels include:
- Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Division (Muhammad Atif)
- Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel)
- Standing Committee on Religious Affairs (Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar)
- Standing Committee on Defence Production (Javed Iqbal Warraich)
In the Senate, PTI currently leads eight committees, chaired by:
- Zarqa Suhrawardy Taimur (Devolution of Powers)
- Saifullah Abro (Economic Affairs)
- Aun Abbas (Industries and Production)
- Ali Zafar (Information and Broadcasting)
- Faisal Saleem Rehman (Interior and Narcotics Control)
- Zeeshan Khanzada (Overseas Pakistanis and HRD)
- Mohsin Aziz (Energy)
- Humayun Mohmand (Parliamentary Affairs)
If PTI lawmakers in the Senate also resign, the party stands to lose the chairmanship of all eight committees.
