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ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued notices to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants (ICMAP) for their failure to disclose foreign travel details and expenses of their council members for the past five years.
ICAP is the regulatory body for Chartered Accountants in Pakistan, while ICMAP is a professional body for cost and management accountants.
Petitioner Jamshed Mir had sought details of council members’ foreign travel from both the regulatory bodies.
The petitioner alleged that over the past few years, Councilors – including officers, former Councilors and other members – of ICAP and ICMAP have been making frequent trips abroad, allegedly for official duties, delegations and related duties.
“These trips have been financed from the funds of the institutes. However, the manner and frequency of these expenses have raised questions of abuse, resulting in lawsuits among stakeholders, and have been criticized by the media, which has published reports highlighting concerns about the transparency of such expenses,” the application submitted to both bodies said.
“In the interests of transparency, accountability and responsible use of public funds, please provide the following information for each foreign trip undertaken during the last five (05) years by any Council member (including officers), former Council members, ICMAP members traveling on behalf of the Institute and any other ICMAP official.”
Subsequently, the petitioner approached the Pakistan Information Commission (PIC) for the same purpose but was unable to obtain any information.
A single judge bench of the IHC, headed by Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas, is hearing the petition where the PIC’s inaction on the petitioner’s application has been challenged.
