Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The housing allowance and reimbursement of medical charges to lawmakers, including former National Assembly speaker Fehmida Mirza have been declared irregular and in violation of rules.

It has been disclosed in the audit report of the National Assembly for 2015-16 that Rs 101.144 million were paid to the lawmakers with respect to housing allowance and reimbursement of medical charges for their treated abroad.

The NA Secretariat management paid Rs 86.868 million housing allowance to the MNAs during 2013-14 and it was also paid to the members who were allotted furnished suites in the federal lodges. Under Members of Parliament (salaries and allowances) Act 1974, there was no provision in the existing laws for grant of housing allowance to the members who were allotted suites in the parliament lodges, the report read.

Audit report recommended that the payment of said allowance to the lawmakers allotted suites in federal lodges should be stopped.

The auditor general of Pakistan raised serious reservations on reimbursement of medical charges worth Rs 10 million to Fehmida Mirza, Shehnaz Sheikh, Bushra Rehman, Shehzada Mohiuddin, Sahibzada Murtaza Amin, Abdul Waseem and Kishwar Zahra. The AGP said that these payments were unauthorized. He demanded action against former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for relaxing the rules in this regard.

According to documents available with Daily Times, it has been disclosed that the Supreme Court disqualified Shehnaz Sheikh, but she was still paid Rs 2.7 million for her treatment abroad. Similarly, unauthorised reimbursement of medical charges worth Rs 4.3 million to Bushra Rehman, Rs 2.740 million to Fehmida Mirza and Rs 2.860 million to Shehzada Mohiuddin were also made. Three lawmakers Syed Murtaza Amin, Abdul Wasim and Kishwar Zahra were paid Rs 1.676 million for their treatment in private hospitals of Karachi and Lahore.