Auditor General of Pakistan Akhtar Buland Rana is not too pleased with the government ‘snatching’ his powers of pre-audit of funds, calling it ‘unconstitutional’.

In a letter to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Rana ‘advised’ the premier not to separate the audit and accounts services and argued that the move was in violation of various clauses of the Constitution, audit officials privy to the development told The Express Tribune.

Audit officials said on Tuesday Rana wrote a letter to Ashraf after he approved a summary of separating the two services, which are presently under the administrative control of the AGP. The government wanted to place the account service under the administrative control of the ministry of finance, the audit officials added.

The office of the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) is responsible for preparing and maintaining the accounts of the federal, provincial and district governments. It also authorises payments from the Federal Consolidated Fund and public accounts against the approved budgetary provisions after pre-audit checks which are prescribed by the AGP.

“The move is mala fide and an attempt to abolish the pre-audit checks that the AGP exercises before the release of funds,” said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said the federal government could make such a move only by amending the Constitution.

The officials claimed any such attempt would be in violation of the constitutional clauses 168, 169, 170 and 171, which pertain to the functions of the AGP.

They said the controversy was rooted in a clash of personalities between former CGA Junaid Khan and Rana and between the latter and ministry of finance. As a result, Rana refused to accept the appointment of adviser to the ministry Rana Asad Amin, saying such a post did not exist.