PESHAWAR – An audit report has uncovered alleged corruption and financial irregularities worth billions of rupees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s minerals sector during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
According to the report, the provincial exchequer suffered losses exceeding Rs16.94 billion in a single year during 2022 and 2023.
The report states that more than Rs8 billion was lost through illegal mining, while outstanding dues amounting to Rs4.31 billion remained unrecovered from defaulting contractors.
It further reveals that illegal mining continued across the province despite the presence of checkpoints, inspectors and other relevant staff from the Mines and Minerals Department, resulting in additional losses of Rs3.08 billion. The unauthorised extraction of gravel and sand in the name of constructing highways and small dams was also identified as a source of losses amounting to Rs3.07 billion.
According to the audit findings, excise duty worth Rs547.2 million imposed on minerals was not collected. The report also pointed to the waiver of outstanding dues exceeding Rs810 million relating to coal, bauxite, limestone and soapstone mines.
The audit further revealed that government land belonging to the Mines and Minerals Department in Peshawar was leased at just Rs200 per acre, against the prescribed rate of Rs10,000 per acre. This resulted in an estimated loss of Rs140 million to the public exchequer.
Similarly, the failure to recover outstanding dues related to small dams in Kohat, Nowshera, Swabi, Haripur and other districts caused losses exceeding Rs530 million. The report also identified the non-recovery of Rs63.6 million in royalty payments in Mardan.
The Auditor General has recommended inquiries against those responsible to establish accountability for the financial irregularities and determine the extent of losses inflicted on the provincial exchequer.
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