Page 58 - CMA Journal (Sep-Oct 2025)

Articles Section
Articles Section
The Evolution and Digital Transformation of

Public Accounts Committees (PACs) in Pakistan

History of the PACs in Pakistan al framework, which
further entrenched
In the Commonwealth nations—dating back to the prin- ciples of
1861—the public financial accountability, under the legislative oversight.
Westminster Parliamentary System, is being performed Notably, Section 169
by the Public Accounts Committees (PACs). In 1857 – a of the 1935 Act
select committee of the House of Commons required that audit
recommended the formation of a committee to oversee reports prepared by
government accounts and eventually in 1861 the first the Auditor General
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was constituted to be submitted to the
1
examine the use Government makes of public money . Governor-General or
relevant Provincial
A Select Committee on Public Accounts was established
Governor, who would
by the UK House of Commons in April 1861. William
then lay them before
Gladstone, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, moved for the Syed Muhammad
the respective legisla-
appointment of the Select Committee on 8 April 1861. Idrees, ACMA
tures— providing the
The motion was agreed to and the first Select Committee
foundational legal Chief Accounts Officer (PAC),
on Public Accounts was appointed for, ‘the examination
basis for parliamenta- Balochistan Provincial
from year to year of the Audited Accounts of the Public
ry scrutiny of public Assembly Secretariat
Expenditure’. [The Commonwealth Parliamentary
expenditure.
Association Academy].
Acting on these provisions, and being the member of the
The origins of the PACs in the Indian subcontinent were 3
Commonwealth of Nations on 14th August 1947 and the
also modeled on the Westminster System of
National Assembly being the branch of the
accountability and the first PAC in the Indian
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) since
subcontinent following the implementation of the 4
1st January 1948 Pakistan established its first PAC at the
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, formally enacted as the
national level on 20th May 1948.
Government of India Act, 1919 by the Parliament of
United Kingdom was constituted in 1921.
The first PAC in the Indian subcontinent was constituted in 1921.
The Montagu– Chelmsford Reforms or more concisely the
Mont–Ford Reforms, were introduced by the colonial
government to introduce self-governing institutions
gradually in British India. The reforms take their name
from Edwin Montagu, the Secretary of State for India from
1917 to 1922, and Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy of India
between 1916 and 1921.
Source: Wikipedia
These reforms, introduced during British colonial rule
(1858–1947), were aimed at enhancing Indian The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
participation in governance. Under the 1919 Act, is comprised of almost 180 branches
dedicated rules were framed to establish Public Accounts
Committees at both central and provincial
levels—specifically, Rule 51 of the Indian Legislative Rules
provided for the Committee on Public Accounts in the
State and Legislative Assembly, while Rule 33 of the
Legislative Councils Rules recommended similar
2
structures at the provincial level .
After independence in 1947, Pakistan adopted the
Government of India Act, 1935 as its interim constitution-
Source: Official website of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).
56 ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Sep-Oct 2025