Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial audit irregularities

Audit reports have identified significant financial and administrative discrepancies within various sectors of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government.

In the hydel development sector, an audit of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hydel Development Fund flagged Rs18.78 billion in irregularities. This included the unauthorized transfer of Rs13.14 billion to the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) without cabinet approval, as well as failure to deposit Rs5.48 billion in hydropower project profits into the provincial treasury. The report also noted wasteful spending on unused buildings and unauthorized recruitment payments.

Separate findings regarding the minerals department revealed losses exceeding 16.94 billion rupees during the 2022-2023 period. The audit detailed over 8 billion rupees lost to illegal mining facilitated by official patronage and criminal collusion. Other losses included uncollected dues from contractors, illegal extraction of gravel and sand, and the waiver of significant arrears from various mining operations.

Recent audit findings have expanded to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company, uncovering approximately 18.46 billion rupees in losses during the 2024-25 period. The report attributes these losses to mismanagement and administrative failures during the PTI administration. Specific discrepancies include a failure to recover 2.08 billion rupees in land lease payments despite court orders and a 629.8 million rupee loss due to the non-renewal of commercial land agreements. Additionally, the company failed to collect 497.8 million rupees from Al-Hadeed Engineering and faces estimated potential liabilities of 14 billion rupees.