PAC chairman Junaid Akbar resigns on Imran Khan’s directive

ISLAMABAD: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Junaid Akbar has resigned from his post, confirming that the decision was taken on the instructions of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and the party’s political committee.

Speaking to media, Junaid Akbar, who is a member of national assembly from PTI, 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 resignations comes a day after Imran Khan, currently imprisoned in Adiala jail, instructed PTI leaders not to contest upcoming by-elections and to withdraw from all parliamentary committees.

“Resign from all of the National Assembly’s committees!” That is the directive by Imran Khan to his party said @Aleema_KhanPK who was finally allowed to meet her brother after 4 months.#راہ_حق_کا_مجاہد_عمران_خان pic.twitter.com/pHXDsvWZ5R

— PTI USA Official (@PTIOfficialUSA) August 26, 2025

Following her meeting with the former prime minister in jail, Khan’s sister Aleema Khan told reporters that the PTI founder had directed the party to distance itself from the by-polls, arguing that contesting them would lend legitimacy to what he called a flawed electoral process.

She said that the PTI founder’s clear stance was not to legitimise the by-elections, but if anyone in the party held a different view, it would be taken into consideration.

PTI to lose control of 13 committees

It may be noted here that a total of 84 committees function in parliament: 43 in the National Assembly, including standing and special committees, and 41 in the Senate.

In the Senate, PTI members head eihgt committees, while the Sunni Ittehad Council chairs five.

With Junaid AKbar’s resign, the party has just lost control of one National Assembly committee from a total of five it heads.

Muhammad Atif leads the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Division; Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel chairs the Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination; Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar heads the Standing Committee on Religious Affairs; and Javed Iqbal Warraich chairs the Standing Committee on Defence Production.

In the Senate, PTI senators chair eight committees. Among them: Zarqa Suhrawardy Taimur (Transfer 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 Human Resource Development), Mohsin Aziz (Energy), and Humayun Mohmand (Parliamentary Affairs).

Resignations here would cost PTI the leadership of all eight Senate committees.