Omission and commission

The CAG needs to be more transparent

The outgoing Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi’s startling admission that he had not uploaded defence reports on the CAG website is a disturbing example of the confused thinking that informs the administration’s approach to security issues. During his tenure, which began in September 2017, the CAG tabled eight reports in Parliament but did not upload them on the institution’s website. Mr Mehrishi, who divulged this fact in a media interview after he demitted office last Friday, explained that “someone in Washington, someone in Beijing and someone in Islamabad may also be watching” so the idea is not to