Another major instance of financial irregularities has come to light, dating back to the tenure of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has been revealed that financial irregularities amounting to Rs 17.78 billion occurred within the Local Government Department during the 2024-25 fiscal year.
These irregularities stem from various factors, including illegal and unnecessary recruitments, the awarding of contracts to favored individuals, the disbursement of cash to contractors—bypassing the standard procedure of using bank transfers or crossed cheques—the payment of unverified arrears and perks, discrepancies between the records of the State Bank of Pakistan and the District Accounts Office, the retention of outstanding liabilities in public accounts, issues related to procurement, account management with commercial banks, and negligence in service delivery.
During the 2024-25 fiscal year, the District Comptrollers of Accounts (DCA) and District Accounts Offices (DAO) across 36 districts of the province made cash payments totaling Rs 923.3 million to Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs), instead of utilizing bank transfers or crossed cheques.
Furthermore, Rs 154.3 million was paid to employees of various departments as arrears and perks—a sum that was never disclosed for audit purposes. According to the audit report, a discrepancy of Rs 9.271 billion has been identified between the records of the District Comptrollers of Accounts/District Accounts Officers in 24 out of 36 districts and the system of the State Bank of Pakistan. While the records of the District Accounts Officers indicated a balance of Rs 22.5244 billion, the State Bank of Pakistan’s system showed only Rs 13.2533 billion.
The public exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 559.5 million due to illegal and unnecessary recruitments. Furthermore, a loss of Rs 453.5 million was incurred because established regulations—including the rules of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Procurement Regulatory Authority—were violated during various procurement processes.
A loss of Rs 858.8 million was recorded in relation to accounts held with commercial banks. An audit of service delivery revealed irregularities amounting to Rs 660 million, while other financial irregularities—stemming from negligence, oversight, and administrative failure—totaled Rs 3.6015 billion.
In Abbottabad, a substantial sum of Rs 529.3 million was reportedly spent on the “upgradation” and procurement for government educational institutions that are, in fact, non-functional. The audit report questions the necessity of spending such a large amount on these institutions, given that they are non-operational and lack even the presence of teachers. Rs 40 million was spent on unnecessary expenditures. According to an audit report, Rs 3.3 million was paid as stipends to 25 *pesh imams* (prayer leaders) of congregational mosques in the Bajaur district, who also serve as teachers in government schools.
The audit report raises an objection, noting that a separate payment was made to a government school teacher in the form of a stipend, which is unlawful. In Bajaur, the public exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 289.9 million due to issues involving human resources, service delivery, negligence, and other lapses—all of which were deemed illegal and unnecessary.
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