Buland Akhtar Rana

Buland Akhtar Rana is the newly appointed Auditor General of Pakistan, as of August 2011 under the orders of President Asif Ali Zardari.[1] The previous auditor-general was Tanvir Ali Agha, who had resigned amid a controversy on whether he was able continue to hold office for another four months; subsequently, Aneece Marghub was appointed as the acting auditor-general. Rana belongs to Multan and is affiliated with the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. He is regarded to be a family friend of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and was promoted to the rank of a grade 22 officer, thereby making him eligible for receiving the post and also making him the senior most official of the audit and accounts group. Previously, he has served as the acting secretary of the Human Rights Division and also served as deputy auditor-general.[2]

His appointment was regarded as controversial, coming amid a time when the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was all set to take up the government’s audit reports involving alleged financial irregularities and embezzlement of billions of rupees. The opposition party Pakistan Muslim League (N) condemned his promotion and called it a propagation of "cronyism" culture by the government. The chairman of PAC also threatened to resign over what he saw the government proceeding to appoint its "favourite" and "handpicked" officer in order to cover up government corruption.[1]

In an article, Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, a noted Pakistani political commentator, claimed that Rana was appointed "mainly because he is a friend of the prime minister and from his home town of Multan." Siddiqa also said that Rana had previously been charged for sexual harassment,[3] the inquiry of which was quashed. He holds dual Canadian citizenship.[4][5][6]

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, wrote a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari in connection with appointment of Buland Akhtar Rana as Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) pointing out 7 allegations of corruption and irregularities against him.[7] Due to the strong affiliation of Rana with Pakistan Peoples Party's current leadership and being a family friend of the prime minister,[8] his appointment is being looked upon as biased and favored. However, President Zardari later replied in a letter to the CJP in which he cleared all allegations made against Rana. Hence, the appointment was accepted by the CJP.[4]

Rana was removed by Supreme Judicial Council in May, 2015 after a reference sent by the National Assembly.

References

  1. 1 2 Controversial appointment: Buland Akhtar Rana named new Auditor General
  2. ↑ New Appointment: PM promotes friend, props up chances of top auditor’s post
  3. ↑ Fit for constitutional office?: Auditor never disciplined for harassing junior
  4. 1 2 Rana takes oath
  5. ↑ PM Gilani, don’t appoint a man of doubtful integrity as head of the supreme audit institution – by Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, Critical PPP
  6. ↑ Under the law, can expatriates govern?
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
  8. ↑ http://tribune.com.pk/story/223226/new-appointment-pm-promotes-friend-props-up-chances-of-top-auditors-post
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