Quetta: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Bal Road Provincial Parliament issued a large-scale alarm irregular and the provincial energy sector’s financial mismanagement worth billions of rupees, warning of ruthless accountability if mistakes persist.
The disclosures were conducted at a PAC meeting chaired by Ashar Ali Tareen, where members baked energy officials to train unproven payments, unchecked subsidies and unused funds.
Audit officials revealed that in the 2021-22 fiscal year, the department allocated Rs 100.4 crore but spent only Rs 80 crore while Rs 231 crore unused. Members condemned mismanagement, calling it an unfavorable budget and ineffective use of funds.
Commission members Fazal Qadir Mandokhail, Wali Muhammad Noorzai, Rehmat Saleh Baloch and Safia Bibi, and opposition leader Younis Aziz Zehri joined the officials.
Officials bake on unverified payments, unused funds
Mr Noorzai dismissed the excuse of the vacant position in the department being “unacceptable”, saying that wasting 30% of the funds was a “serious crime”.
Mr. Mandokshire vowed that those responsible would be brought to justice.
The Commission decided to write to the Chief Secretary directing that any secretary who fails to return more than 5% of the unpaid funds to the Finance Department will face strict discipline.
Audit records show that K-Seelectric’s Rs 10 billion and Rs 30 billion of QESCO are used to replace pipeline wells without the meter readings based solely on estimated metering. Members blow it up as “open malfeasance.”
Chairman Tareen reminded the department that the investigation was ordered in 2021 but never complied. He warned: “If this attitude continues, we will submit the case to NAB.”
Mr Baloch called the practice “pure robbery” and the Chairman said that bills of billions of rupees were issued without a record of crime.
Debt
The PAC members were stunned to learn that the landlords in Bal Luchistan owed Rs 50,000 crore in QESCO while the government department owed Rs 5,400 crore.
However, despite such staggered numbers, the supply of electricity outside Quetta is limited to only three hours a day, which is a clear sign of serious mismanagement.
Posted at Dawn on September 21, 2025
