Billions of Pak taxpayers' money misappropriated in 2005-06

Islamabad, Apr 16 (ANI): Pakistan's Public Accounts Committee chief Nisar Ali Khan has said that the PAC had found a misappropriation of billions of rupees in 2005-06.

Taking part in a debate on the address of President Asif Ali Zardari to the joint session of parliament, Nisar said the PAC had dug out hundreds of cases in various government departments in which the nation's money had been plundered.

He said a fountain, worth Rs 225 million, was installed in Karachi during Pervez Musharraf's tenure, which consumed Rs 160,000 per day. Recently, the fountain had been stolen and millions of rupees of this poor nation had drained, he said.

The news quoted Nisar as saying that the fountain was ordered and inaugurated by former president Pervez Musharraf, but his signatures were not there on record.

Another important case was found in the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL), which imported an LPG plant costing Rs 600 million.

Similarly, Nisar said, the PAC had learnt that Rs 4.8 billion were borrowed by the top echelon of the National Logistic Cell (NLC) from different banks and invested in stock markets. "This amount has totally vanished," he said.

Nisar said it was astonishing to note that around 7,000 electricity poles were missing from the storerooms of Wapda. He said: "A single pole is so heavy that it requires a crane to be lifted; how could all these go missing?"

He said around 4,000 flats in Karachi were allocated on ownership basis to occupants in the previous term. He said these flats, according to an audit report, were worth Rs 500 billion.

Nisar said the PAC would reach out to all such people, who plundered the national wealth, irrespective of their posts and status. (ANI)