PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly`s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday ordered the auditor general office to conduct special audit of the provincial government`s account for all the 36 districts.

The PAC took notice of alleged financial irregularities of Rs36 billion after National Accountability Bureau (NAB) launched an inquiry in account No.G10113 for earnest money, security and deposit funds of local government, communication and works, irrigation and public health departments.

During a meeting held here with Speaker Babar Saleem Swati in the chair, the committee of provincial assembly also ordered the auditor general official to look into the last 10-year financial transactions in the account.The meeting was also attended by lawmakers from both treasury and opposition benches besides officials from the offices of accountant and auditor general, finance, communication and works and anti-corruption establishment.

During the meeting, the body ordered communication and works department to immediately suspend all those officials, who had signed cheques for withdrawal of the amount.

Speaker Babar Saleem ordered officials from the accountant general office to issue suspension orders of all those, who were involved in the financial scam and submit a report to PAC within three days.

He observed that so far, investigators could not find involvement of any political figure in the financial scam.

He added that only officials of communication and works, finance and accountant general office were involved in financial irregularities.

`This is the biggest financial scam in the history of the province. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is doing a great job. More than 50 per cent of the embezzled amount has been recovered, Mr Swati told the meeting.

The representatives of accountant general office informed the meeting thatthey had suspended two persons.

However, they added that they had shared names of finance department officials allegedly involved in the scam with the department for further proceedings against them.

`We approve and disapprove budgets and as public representatives, we are bound to protect public money. The chief minister`s adviser on finance [referring to Muzammil Aslam] should resign, PPP`s Ahmad Karim Kundi said.

He said that it was a pool for retention money of four different departments and claimed the amount was parked in the pool intentionally.

The speaker, however, observed that PAC would carry out a detailed forensic audit. He claimed that right now, the body was focusing only on irregularities of Rs40 billion and all those involved in the scam. The finance department officials informed the meeting that all those, identified by the office of accountant general, were closed [transferred back to the department].

They said that their names were put on exit control list upon which the chair observed that they should have issued suspension orders and asked the secretary of PAC to issue a displeasure note tofinance department.

The speaker observed that sending back official to the department was not enough and all those involved in the scam should be immediately suspended.

Officials of communication and works department informed the meeting that seven persons were suspended following the directions issued by the PAC chairman during last meeting.

Mr Swati observed that all those, who had signed the cheques, should be suspended and the contractors should be blacklisted.

Officials from auditor general office informed the meeting that a special audit of security account for 18 districts had been conducted in 2021-2022, leading to detection of Rs6 billion discrepancies with Rs4.3 billion in Swat alone.

`We will carry out an audit and will identify weaknesses besides we will give suggestions but it will be completed by December 2025,` they said.

During the meeting, PPP`s Karim Kundi also suggested to ACE to carry out an inquiry. The special assistant to chief minister on ACE, Musaddiq Abbasi, however, said that if one body was carrying outinvestigationinto alleged corruption, another body could not do the same.