An audit of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s financial year 2024-25 accounts has pointed to serious gaps in how the provincial government booked public spending, development funds and foreign debt during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) period in office. The audit report said Rs72.46 billion in government expenditure could not be fully verified, placing a large share of recorded outlays under question.
The findings cover current spending, development allocations and external borrowing. Auditors said the gaps weaken confidence in how closely the province’s books match what the assembly approved and what was actually paid.
Excess SAP entries and misclassified development funds
According to the audit, Rs104.26 billion above the provincial assembly’s approved budget was entered in the SAP system — the software used to record government finances. Booking more than the sanctioned budget in that system has raised questions about fiscal transparency in the province.
The report also said Rs153.68 billion in development spending was shown under the wrong accounting heads. Treating development funds as current, day-to-day expenditure left serious flaws in the government’s financial statements, auditors found. In one head of the provincial development budget alone, the audit noted Rs20.20 billion in additional entries. Health, education, police, highways and other departments likewise carried billions of rupees in excess budget entries, the report said.
Loan records and the public account
The audit identified a Rs39.58 billion negative balance in the public account, meaning payments from that account exceeded receipts. External loan records amounting to Rs98.89 billion were found incomplete. Full details of foreign-loan receipts, repayments and grants were not available, and payments of Rs51.85 billion against foreign loans and interest could not be fully verified. Auditors raised serious objections on these points.
The report further disclosed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s internal loan record has not been updated since 2017-18, while details of loans taken from the federal government have not been updated since 2013-14. Those outdated debt books, the audit indicated, leave long gaps in financial oversight.
What the gaps mean for budget oversight
Incomplete verification of spending and debt does not, by itself, prove where every rupee went; it shows where confirmation failed and where ledgers were left unrefreshed. Together, the unverified outlays, over-budget SAP postings, misclassified development spend and stale loan files put fresh pressure on questions of budget transparency and routine fiscal monitoring in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ke audit mein kaha gaya hai ke mali saal 2024-25 mein 72 arab se zyada ke sarkari kharch ki poori tasdeeq nahi ho saki. Assembly ke budget se zyada raqamein SAP system mein darj thin, aur taraqqiati kharch galat madon mein dikhaya gaya. Bahiri aur androni qarzon ke record adhoore ya purane paaye gaye. Awam ke liye is ka matlab yeh hai ke un ke paise ka hisab wazeh nahi, is liye nigrani kamzor padti hai.
