The cost of five road projects in Dera Ismail Khan witnessed an extraordinary increase of billions of rupees during the tenure of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s son, Asad Mahmood, as Minister of Communications. The combined value of the approved contracts for all five projects exceeded their initial estimates by Rs 5.10 billion. The original estimated cost was Rs 1.61 billion, which increased to Rs 6.71 billion.
Asad Mahmood served as Federal Minister for Communications from April 2022 to August 2023. During his tenure, tenders for these five road projects in Dera Ismail Khan were reissued, and an extraordinary increase was recorded in the revised rates. According to available details, costs increased by 51 to 55 percent in four out of the five projects, while the increase in the fifth project reached as high as 427.4 percent.
The most surprising case concerns the Qureshi Morr to Muryali Road on National Highway N-55. The initial estimated cost of this project was Rs 145.2 million, but following revision, the contract value was increased to Rs 765.903 million. Thus, the cost of a single road project increased by Rs 620.703 million. This extraordinary increase compared to the initial estimate raises the question of what additional construction requirements or technical changes emerged that necessitated such a massive increase in the project’s cost.
Another important aspect of the matter is the emergence of two different versions of the NHA’s CSR 2022 data. In addition to discrepancies between the revised estimates and the prices submitted by bidders, some basic information regarding different sections of the roads was also found to be missing. These issues have raised serious questions about the tendering process, the preparation of estimates, and the transparency of bids.
The Rs 5.10 billion difference between the initial estimates and final contracts of the five projects is not merely a matter of figures but a major question concerning the use of public resources. When such an extraordinary increase was made in project costs, what was its technical basis? Were the revised rates independently reviewed? Did the authorised institutions verify whether these prices were consistent with market rates and actual construction costs?
It is also necessary to determine responsibility for the decisions to re-tender these projects and increase their costs during Asad Mahmood’s tenure as Minister of Communications. As Federal Minister for Communications, was he aware of the revised estimates, tenders, and billions of rupees in cost increases for these projects? At what level were these decisions approved, and was there a proper technical justification for them? The relevant ministry and the National Highway Authority will have to answer these questions.
The people of Dera Ismail Khan continue to face a lack of basic civic facilities, underdevelopment, and security challenges. In such circumstances, the transparent and effective use of money collected from the public through taxes for development projects is essential. The matter of contracts for five road projects being approved at Rs 5.10 billion above their initial estimates is particularly important because the reasons for this increase and complete details of the additional construction work carried out in return must be presented before the public.
The Auditor General of Pakistan, NAB, and other relevant accountability institutions are being urged to conduct a detailed review of the original estimates, revised rates, tender documents, bids, contracts, and payments for all five projects. It must be determined who approved the cost increases, what technical justification was presented for them, and whether the national exchequer was subjected to any unnecessary financial burden.
The fundamental question remains: When the initial estimated cost of the five road projects in Dera Ismail Khan was only Rs 1.61 billion, how did their contract values reach Rs 6.71 billion? Who is responsible for this Rs 5.10 billion difference, and when will the public be provided with a complete explanation? Religious identity, political affiliation, or family influence cannot exempt anyone from accountability for public money. The people of Dera Ismail Khan deserve answers regarding the extraordinary increase in the costs of these development projects.
A mega corruption scandal involving the purchase of medicines and medical equipment during the tenure of JUI-F leader and former Federal Minister for Communications Maulana Asad Mahmood has come to light. Alleged plans to siphon off billions of rupees from the budgets of the Ministry of Communications, Pakistan Post and the National Highway Authority (NHA) were reportedly prepared at JUI-F’s central office in Islamabad and other key locations, with former Federal Minister Maulana Asad Mahmood being held directly responsible.
The Auditor General of Pakistan’s audit report for the financial year 2022-23 has exposed the performance of the Ministry of Communications, which fell under JUI-F’s political quota. According to the report, the embezzlement of medicines and medical supplies was part of five major procurement cases within the Ministry of Communications, with a combined financial volume of Rs 3.2616 billion, of which crores of rupees were lost purely to the looting of medical funds.
During the previous government’s tenure, decisions regarding major contracts, recruitment and the distribution of funds within the Ministry of Communications were reportedly made not in government offices but at JUI-F’s office in Islamabad and other key meeting places. A network was allegedly operated through handpicked managers to favour manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and selected suppliers, with the entire moral and administrative responsibility resting directly on then Federal Minister Maulana Asad Mahmood.
According to audit documents, senior departmental officials and the procurement committee purchased medicines in quantities far exceeding actual requirements and needs under the medical funds allocated for Pakistan Post’s dispensaries and employees, in order to benefit their political masters and specific pharmaceutical companies. Government hospitals and dispensaries did not have sufficient demand for these medicines, as a result of which medicines worth crores of rupees remained in warehouses, expired and were on the verge of going to waste.
The most serious objection raised in the report concerns the procurement of medical equipment, particularly disposable syringes. To provide substantial financial benefits to suppliers, competitive market rates and the regulations established by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) were completely ignored. Syringes and other medical supplies were purchased at excessively high, unreasonable and exorbitant rates, completely undermining merit.
Under the rules, open tendering and transparency are mandatory for procurement worth crores of rupees. However, due to the alleged influence of the former Federal Minister, the transparent tendering process under the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules was completely bypassed. All purchases were shown as having been made through Local Purchase (LP), or direct procurement at the local level, to prevent open-market competition and fill the pockets of favoured individuals.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed serious displeasure over the Auditor General’s report and issued strict directives to the Principal Accounting Officer of the Ministry of Communications over this lawlessness allegedly taking place under the Federal Minister’s watch. The committee ordered that all those responsible for causing losses worth crores of rupees to the national exchequer by disregarding PPRA rules, including key decision-makers in the ministry at the time, be identified and subjected to the strictest legal and disciplinary action.
