ISLAMABAD: A new audit report from the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has revealed that the Ministry of Defence failed to comply with any of the 51 audit observations and one actionable directive issued between 2011-12 and 2021-22 — a span of nine years.
The AGP’s audit report for the fiscal year 2023-24, while not flagging any major financial mismanagement in the Defence Ministry’s current budget, uncovered long-standing administrative and legal lapses, particularly within the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA).
Most striking is the report’s table titled “Status of Compliance with PAC Directives,” which shows nil compliance on all entries. Over the nine-year period, not a single audit paragraph or actionable point was addressed, marking what auditors see as a serious pattern of negligence.
Further, the PMSA — a subordinate body of the Defence Ministry — has operated for nearly 30 years without the necessary rules and regulations mandated under Sections 18 and 19 of the PMSA Act of 1994. Despite legal obligations for the federal government and the agency’s director general to publish official rules, none have been formulated or gazetted.
The audit also flagged a financial issue: PMSA failed to deposit Rs6.95 million into the Federal Consolidated Fund. This amount was part of the Rs37.53 million earned through auctions of boats and fish confiscated from Indian fishermen. Only Rs30.58 million was transferred to the national treasury, violating the Public Finance Management Act, 2019, and the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy introduced in 2020.
Despite these administrative and legal shortcomings, the report did include a positive note: during the fiscal year 2023-24, the Defence Ministry recorded Rs314 million in savings from its Rs1.9 trillion budget, largely due to underutilized current and development expenditure.
When approached for comment on the audit findings, the Information Minister promised to share the Defence Ministry’s official response but did not follow up, even after a reminder. Previously, a government spokesperson had said that such audit observations are usually discussed in Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) meetings — chaired by the Principal Accounting Officer — and are often resolved before reaching the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
“Most audit points are settled at the DAC level. The PAC has also instructed all departments to hold DAC meetings monthly to ensure timely resolution of audit issues,” the spokesman added.
