Ministry fails to satisfy audit on Rs500m anti-terror fund

ISLAMABAD: If the audit report is any guide, the Interior Ministry committed irregularities in billions and destroyed its evidence under the watch of Rehman Malik when counter-terrorism fund was used for globe-trotting, buying gold for gifts, dinning at five-star hotels and obliging loyalists.
Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has spotted as many as 37 irregularities worth Rs2 billion including Rs500 millions counter-terrorism fund allocated for National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) that refused to produce record despite repeated requests of the auditors.
Not only was the record kept away from the probing eyes of the auditors, the ministry now headed by Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan didn’t reply to 37 audit observations but in three cases; again not to the satisfaction of the investigators forcing the AGP to recommend fixing the responsibility for obstructing the audit function.
Nisar in the past wowed to investigate the embezzlement in counter-terrorism fund but stopped short of translating his words into action against Rehman Malik who has now been assigned the task of the ministry’s oversight as chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior.
Questions have also been raised about Brig. (R) Javed Iqbal who was performing as DG NCMC and supposed custodian of this counter-terrorism fund as he was on the payroll of Nadra and simultaneously drawing pay from the NCMC. The audit has declared unauthorised the expenditures of Rs287.97 million incurred on him and also the amount sanctioned by him.
The audit report has revealed that Rs40.78 million, out of counter-terrorism fund, was spent on the international travelling of Rehman Malik accompanied by his staffers and without getting the approval of the prime minister.
Another Rs27.51 million was drawn out of the secret fund apparently for meeting the expenses incurred on the Commission on Enforced Disappearances but neither any evidence was produced nor reply was offered when the auditors sought record of the expenditure.
The secret fund was also used for purchasing gold items, however, “the purpose for which the gold items were purchased and to whom they were handed over was neither available in the record nor provided to the audit”, the report said, declaring this expenditure invalid.
The ministry didn’t offer a reply when asked as to how Rs5.87 million from secret fund was used for ordering lunch, dinners and refreshment items from the five-star hotels.
Former minister’s senior private secretary pocketed Rs11 million from the counter-terrorism fund without leaving any trace behind and the ministry didn’t bother to offer any justification and the rules followed for this disbursement.
The secretary interior’s staffer was also among the beneficiaries of this fund who was released Rs3.4 million unlawfully.
The audit has also questioned the whereabouts of Rs.2.87 million drawn out of the NCMC account as there is no record of its spending whereas another Rs5.5 million was encashed and then deposited in the secretary interior’s personal account. As many as Rs17.51 million from the secret fund was distributed among the ministry’s staffers and Rs8.19 million was spent on the irregular appointments.
Even the fee Rs616 million collected by Nadra under the head of Arms Licence Revalidation Project was deposited into the NCMC account for arbitrary use later on.
The audit has also spotted irregularities of salary expenditures of Rs106.90 million, non-recovery of deployment cost Rs25 million, excess expenditure on ration of Rs116.50 million, loss due to non-recovery of income tax of Rs178.82 million, unauthorised conveyance allowance of Rs56.81 million during leave, undocumented expenditure of Rs114.89 million on salary, irregular retention of government receipt and interest Rs162.84 million and others.