The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Balochistan Assembly has unearthed alarming financial mismanagement in the provincial energy department, exposing irregularities worth billions of rupees and warning of tough accountability measures if the lapses continue.
During a heated PAC session chaired by Asghar Ali Tareen, audit officials disclosed that in fiscal year 2021–22, the department was allocated Rs10.4 billion, but only Rs8 billion was spent, leaving Rs2.31 billion to lapse unused. Lawmakers condemned the waste as irresponsible budgeting and a failure of governance.
Adding to the outrage, audit records revealed that Rs10 billion was paid to K-Electric and Rs30 billion to Qesco for subsidised tube wells without any meter readings — disbursements made purely on estimates. Members branded the practice as “open malpractice” and “sheer looting.”
The session saw strong criticism from committee members Fazal Qadir Mandokhail, Wali Muhammad Noorzai, Rehmat Saleh Baloch, and Safia Bibi, joined by Opposition Leader Younis Aziz Zehri. Mr Noorzai rejected the department’s excuse of vacant posts as “unacceptable,” calling the wastage of nearly 30 per cent of allocated funds “a serious crime.” Mr Mandokhail vowed that those responsible would be held accountable.
PAC Chairman Tareen reminded officials that an inquiry ordered in 2021 was never carried out and warned that the case would be referred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) if negligence persisted. The committee also resolved to write to the chief secretary, directing that any secretary failing to return more than 5 per cent of unspent funds to the finance department face strict disciplinary action.
The scale of arrears further shocked the committee: landlords across Balochistan owe Qesco Rs500 billion, while government departments owe Rs54 billion. Yet despite these staggering unpaid dues, electricity supply in most areas outside Quetta remains restricted to just three to four hours a day — a glaring reflection of what lawmakers called systematic mismanagement.
