Heads may roll as new AGP orders probe into Rs375tr audit blunder

ISLAMABAD: The newly appointed Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has swung into action, ordering a high-level fact-finding inquiry into the astonishing irregularities’ audit figure of Rs375 trillion (Rs375,000 billion), recently pointed out by The News.

In a formal order issued from the AGP office on Wednesday, a two-member committee has been constituted to investigate how such a glaring discrepancy entered the public domain, raising serious questions about competence and credibility within the audit watchdog.

The committee, headed by Additional Secretary (Power Division) Mahfooz Ahmed Bhatti and Director General (Policy) Muhammad Salim Khan, has been tasked with reviewing all press clippings, scrutinising the process of uploading consolidated audit reports on the AGP website, and ascertaining how the astronomical Rs375 trillion figure was reported.

The panel has also been directed to fix responsibility for “reporting of incorrect figures” and to explain why there was a delay in officially responding to the media uproar.

The AGP’s swift move comes in the wake of series of stories done by this newspaper, highlighting the staggering irregularity figure - over three times larger than the entire GDP of the country - and questioned how such an error could slip through the country’s top audit institution.

The National Assembly Secretariat also returned to the AGP office, the annual audit reports for the fiscal year 2023-24 because of AGP’s decision to make these reports public before their presentation in the parliament. The Speaker National Assembly was also upset over AGP office’s decision to send these reports to the NA Secretariat directly instead of routing it via Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

The probe committee has also been tasked to find out how audit reports were processed before submission to Parliament, reflecting concerns that procedural lapses and internal weaknesses may have allowed the blunder to happen.

The fact-finding committee has been given 10 days to submit its report. Insiders suggest the outcome could lead to reshuffle or disciplinary proceedings within the AGP office, which has already admitted to “typos” but now faces allegations of deeper institutional flaws. Official sources told this newspaper that “heads may roll” as the new AGP appears determined to establish accountability inside his own office. “This is not a routine matter; this has embarrassed the state at the highest level. Responsibility will be fixed, and action is expected against those found negligent or complicit,” one senior official remarked. With the spotlight firmly on the country’s supreme audit institution, the inquiry has become a test case for the new AGP’s resolve to restore credibility and ensure that audit reporting does not become a national embarrassment again.