Audit Report Exposes Billions in Alleged Irregularities in KP Minerals Sector During PTI Rule

A government audit report has identified billions of rupees in alleged financial irregularities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s minerals sector during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, highlighting losses linked to illegal mining, uncollected dues, unpaid royalties and the leasing of government land at substantially reduced rates.

According to the report, the provincial exchequer suffered losses exceeding Rs16.94 billion in a single year. The audit findings describe several cases as more than administrative mismanagement, pointing to what the report characterises as organised corruption.

The report estimates that illegal mining resulted in losses exceeding Rs8 billion during 2022 and 2023. It also identifies Rs4.31 billion in outstanding payments from defaulting contractors that were not recovered. Despite the presence of checkpoints, inspectors and officials from the Minerals Department, illegal mining reportedly continued across the province, causing a further Rs3.08 billion in losses.

The extraction of gravel and sand under the pretext of constructing roads and small dams reportedly resulted in another Rs3.07 billion in losses to the provincial government.

The audit also found that Rs547.2 million in excise duty imposed on minerals had not been collected. In addition, outstanding dues exceeding Rs810 million relating to coal, bauxite, limestone and soapstone mines were reportedly waived.

In Peshawar, government land belonging to the Minerals Department was allegedly leased at just Rs200 per acre instead of the prescribed rate of Rs10,000 per acre. The report estimates that this arrangement caused a loss of Rs140 million to the public exchequer.

Further losses were identified in Kohat, Nowshera, Swabi, Haripur and other districts, where outstanding dues associated with small dams were not recovered, resulting in losses exceeding Rs530 million. In Mardan, another Rs63.6 million in royalties reportedly remained uncollected.

The Auditor General recommended inquiries against those responsible, according to the report. Experts have called for transparent investigations and legal proceedings against the officials identified in the audit to establish responsibility and ensure accountability for the alleged misuse of public resources.

The findings raise questions about oversight of mineral extraction, the enforcement of mining regulations and the recovery of government revenue during the period under review. The allegations require further investigation, and the information provided does not include responses from the officials concerned or any final judicial findings establishing individual liability.