PAC refers issue of Rs15.8m Zakat embezzlement to FIA

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Thursday referred the case of the misappropriation in disbursement of Rs15.859 million of Zakat funds at Dera Murad Jamali and Dera Allahyar to the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA).
The authority has been directed to probe and bring all those before the court of law for the crime that snatched the funds from the poor into the pockets of influential people.The Ministry of Postal Services, though took a disciplinary action against two postmasters as both have received 30 percent share of the embezzled amount with demoting them yet did not register criminal cases not only against them but also other who were partners in a crime.
The PAC held its meeting with the chair of Dr Azra Fazal in the absence of Chairman Syed Khursheed Shah in which the audit Paras relating to the Ministry for Postal Services for the financial year 2010-11 came under discussion. Giving the details of the case, the audit officials told the PAC that in two sub-offices of the Sibi Division—Dera Murad Jamali and Dera Allahyar, an amount of Rs15.859 million were misappropriated in disbursement of Zakat during 2005-06.
They told the committee that the cheques of Zakat were received from chairmen, Local Zakat committees, for disbursement to the beneficiaries, but the postmasters deposited these in authorised accounts opened in two branches of the NBP and the amount was fraudulently withdrawn and misappropriated by the postmasters in connivance with the Local Zakat Committees chairmen.
After the inquiry, both the postmasters were found involved in the fraud and as per findings of enquiry report, they have also received 30 percent share of the embezzled amount (approximately Rs4,758,000) refused to take the orders of printing from the Post office on the plea that the Post office is defaulter of Rs1 billion, and they have no machine which would have been imported from aboard.
The Ministry of Postal Services told PAC that the printing cost of inland envelopes of Post Offices Foundation Press is Rs780 per thousand pieces, including General Sales Tax, whereas the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation Karachi was charging printing cost of Rs2,577.78 per thousand pieces during the year 2001, on air mail envelop having the same specification.
Ministry of Communication Secretary Shahid Tarar claimed that the Accountant General, Revenue, has also endorsed that they could print from their subsidiary organization.However, the department of the auditor general of Pakistan did not agree with the claim of Secretary Communication saying that even the auditor general of Pakistan have no such power despite having constitutional post so how the accountant general could give such advice.
Even PAC also shared the same view of the Department of the Auditor General of Pakistan that no one have a power to amend any law and asked the department of the auditor general to probe how the letter was issue and report to the committee.
The committee pending the audit Para till the outcome of the inquiry report of the Department of Auditor General of Pakistan. Another audit Para relating to irregular expenditure of Rs2.462 million that the Ministry of Postal Services has spent on the ex-Federal Minister for Postal Services, Omar George.
The Audit officials told PAC that Pakistan Post Offices has made expenditure of Rs2.462 million on the visit of ex-Federal Minister for Postal Services, Omar George, to Lahore, Karachi and Quetta and under which postmaster general, Multan, has made an expenditure of Rs72,000 on electricity charges, Karachi PMG spent Rs1.1 million on the minister’s car maintenance and Rs1 million on hotel and accommodation expenses.The committee directed for the recovery of the amount from the ex- Federal Minister for Postal Services Umar Gorgage.