Pak's 'duplicate' war on terror reimbursement claim scam unearthed by US Government Accountability Office

Islamabad, Feb.26 (ANI): Pakistan has been presenting false and duplicate statements to US for transport facilities it provided in the 'War on terror' in the region, a recent report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has revealed.

Pakistan's fraud was exposed during an audit carried out by the Office of the Defence Reprsentative at the US Embassy.

The GAO learnt that Pak Navy charged 19,000 dollars per vehicle per month as reimbursement for at least twenty vehicles.

"These claims appeared to contain duplicative charges for a fleet of fewer than 20 passenger vehicles," The Dawn quoted the GAO report, as saying.

The report titled 'Securing, stabilising, and developing Pakistan's border area with Afghanistan,' says that Pakistan has been the largest receiver of US assistance from 2002 to 2008 with 70 percent of 12.3 billion dollars aid going towards defence funds as reimbursements.

"Pakistan's military received 8.7 billion dollars as reimbursements and assistance since 2002, an amount provided in addition to the covert funding provided for intelligence operations," the report said.

It also says that despite such huge aids and assistances being provided over the last six years to counter the threat of terrorism, Al-Qaeda has continuously thwarted the efforts of the US allied forces, and Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) continues to be a safe haven of the outlawed militant group.

The GAO's documents also claimed that Islamabad used Foreign Military Financing to enhance its own defence power as Cobra helicopters, Harris radios, F-16 fighter aircraft and other military equipment were purchased from the fund. (ANI)