Top auditor's bad maths or a real trillion-rupee bombshell?

• AGP points out irregularities worth Rs375tr in federal finances.
• Pakistan's total GDP is around Rs110tr; FY24 budget was Rs14.5tr.
• Out of the total, Rs284.17tr is tied to procurement-related issues.

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan's latest report on the accounts of federal government has triggered shockwaves — not only for what it revealed, but for the mathematics it relied upon.

In what appears to be the most astonishing figure ever quoted in Pakistan's financial history, the AGP pointed out irregularities worth Rs375 trillion in federal finances. Yes, Rs375,000 billion.

Pakistan's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is barely around Rs110 trillion, and the federal budget for FY2023-24 was only Rs14.5 trillion. So how did irregularities balloon to a figure that is 27 times larger than the national budget?

The report listed unbelievable anomalies including Rs284.17 trillion (Rs284,000 billion) tied to procurement-related issues; Rs85.6 trillion (Rs85,600 billion) wasted on defective, delayed or unexecuted civil works; Rs2.5 trillion (Rs2,500 billion) stuck in receivables and recoveries; Rs1.2 trillion (Rs1,200 billion) unresolved circular debt. Billions more were lost in weak internal controls, poor asset management, contract mishandling and encroached government land.

On paper, this makes Pakistan look like a state managing the finances of multiple countries. In reality, it points to something else entirely — either a catastrophic accounting error, a complete breakdown of credibility in how national finances are recorded and audited or total collapse of country's financial system.

Interestingly, the appropriation accounts showed a final allocation of Rs40.3 trillion (Rs40,000 billion), with actual expenditure at Rs39.9 trillion (Rs39,900 billion). A difference of only Rs370 billion, yet somehow, this turned into irregularities worth Rs375 trillion.

The mathematics simply does not make sense to many even in the government. For them, the report raises more questions than it answers.

Did the AGP multiply figures wrongly? Were cumulative figures stretched across multiple years? Or is this a reflection of a collapsing financial oversight system where numbers no longer correspond to reality?

Spokesman for the Auditor General of Pakistan office, when approached, shared a voice note of one of its experts. The voice note shows that the AGP office was not surprised at all by these alarmingly high figures of irregularities.

The News was conveyed by the AGP office that different nature of violations, irregularities, embezzlement, etc, of financial rules from allocation to spending, can surpass even the total budget amount.

However, it was not explained how the irregularities could reach the figure of Rs375,000 billion.

All these figures are part of the published report of Audit Year 2024-25, which has been approved by the president and is ready to be presented before parliament.

Originally published in The News