LAHORE: The Public Accounts Committee-I has canceled all the single-bid contracts entered by the police and prison departments, instituted inquiries and sought reports in the next meeting. The PAC-1 has constituted inquiry committees comprising senior officers of home, finance, police and audit departments. PAC-1 Chairman Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar also admonished the police department for its report of disposing of expired 167,000 teargas shells and asked the police officials to explain the SOPs of disposing of the expired tear gas shells. Mr Bhachar observed that these expired shells were fired on unarmed PTI protesters. “The audit paras about teargas shells shall not be settled until the police provide SOPs and proof of shells disposing of as per the SOPs,” he directed. The PAC-I also observed the delay in completing auctioned buildings and alleged that the cost had risen to a whopping Rs1.5bn. It directed the IG Prisons to get an audit done by the finance and audit departments on the food supply to the prisoners and present it in the next meeting. The committee asked for a probe on the payments for flour and cooking oil and why the supplier left the contract incomplete. The committee also asked the prison department to explain excesses committed against the prisoners. Answering a question, Mr Bhachar said the PTI supported dialogue but an ‘extremist group’ within the PML-N did not want it to happen. “The dialogue cannot be successful without taking the establishment on board,” he said.