An audit report has revealed that the National Assembly Secretariat issued privilege travel vouchers worth Rs1.16 billion to Members of National Assembly (MNAs) during the financial years 2021-22 to 2023-24. The report highlights a discrepancy of Rs161 million between the value of vouchers issued and the expenditure officially reported.
According to the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) report, the National Assembly management had reported an expenditure of one billion rupees on the reimbursement and encashment of these privilege travel vouchers during the specified period.
However, audit officials observed that the National Assembly Secretariat failed to reconcile the actual expenditure incurred on the encashment of these vouchers. These reimbursements were processed by the State Bank of Pakistan and recorded by the Accountant General Pakistan Revenues (AGPR).
The report termed this oversight as “irregular and unauthorised,” further pointing out deficiencies in the internal controls over financial reporting within the National Assembly Secretariat.
The Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC), which convened on January 31, 2025, directed the National Assembly management to reconcile the figures related to the encashment of travel vouchers and to furnish the relevant records to the audit authorities.
When approached for an official comment, the National Assembly Secretariat was reluctant to provide an on-record statement. However, an official, speaking anonymously, informed the publication that the reconciliation process is currently underway but is proving to be time-consuming.
The official further added that the majority of the pending reconciliation cases involve MNAs from Sindh and Balochistan.
