Islamabad:
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday maintained a detailed discussion about the alleged scam of 40 billion rupees in Kohistan, expressing serious concerns about financial irregularities and the lack of departmental cooperation.
By chairing a meeting after a month of one month, the president of PAC, Junaid Akbar, said that when the Committee raises audit objections, the department in question does not effectively cooperate.
In May, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government launched an investigation into the scandal of the mega corruption in the Kohistan district, where it is estimated that a little RS40 billion of the provincial treasure had been seen.
The account was allocated to withholding money by contractors for schemes of four departments, including communication and works departments, local government, irrigation and public health engineering. The scandal was under intense scrutiny during a PAC meeting, chaired by the president of the KP Assembly, Babar Salem Swati.
Officials of the Finance Department and the Office of the General Accountant admitted during the session that billions had been embezzled of the government’s funds.
While an official level of embezzlement of RS24 billion funds had been confirmed, PAC members expressed dissatisfaction with the explanations provided by the Secretary of Finance and the General Accountant.
On Wednesday, the audit officials revealed that there had been a misuse of the chequero, with fraud committed by three people who have now been arrested. The National Responsibility Office (NAB) is investigating the matter.
The General Auditor revealed that despite sending three letters to the Finance Department, there had been no disciplinary measures against any of its officials. The committee demanded complete details of the case and ordered that all relevant records be submitted.
