ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), the country’s key energy regulator, came under fire on Wednesday after it was found to have diverted over Rs1.4 billion public funds into short-term investments, violating legal requirements to deposit surplus receipts into the federal consolidated fund.
The issue was examined by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Naveed Qamar, during a session focused on the Audit Report for the Petroleum Division and Ogra for the fiscal year 2023-24.
Members of the top parliamentary watchdog took strong exception to Ogra’s conduct, following auditor findings that highlighted clear breaches of the Ogra Ordinance 2002 and federal financial regulations.
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Rather than remitting surplus revenues into the consolidated fund as mandated under Section 17(4) of the ordinance, Ogra reportedly used public receipts to finance building construction, capital expenditures, and vehicle purchases – despite having separate budget allocations for these expenses.
The audit revealed that Ogra failed to deposit Rs232 million surplus for the fiscal year 2022-23 and instead channelled the funds towards operational costs.
“This is a blatant breach of the treasury single account policy,” the Director General of Audit told the committee.
Qamar ordered Ogra to return the full Rs1.4 billion once its short-term investments mature. “The money is not Ogra’s to play with,” he said, condemning what he described as a pattern of financial overreach. The committee also heard that during a government-imposed ban on vehicle procurement, Ogra purchased vehicles worth Rs22 million using receipts.
Syed Hussain Tariq, a member of the committee, called the move “irregular and unjustifiable.”
Meanwhile, political theatrics overshadowed the proceedings as members of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) formally resigned from all parliamentary committees following directives from their jailed founding chairman, Imran Khan.
All PTI members on the PAC – including committee chairman Junaid Akber Khan – boycotted the session and announced their resignations on the directives of their jailed leader. Sanaullah Mastikhel, a PTI MNA who is also member of the PAC, briefly appeared in the committee to announce the decision before walking out.
Talking to reporters afterwards, Mastikhel confirmed that all PTI members, including those serving on the PAC, had stepped down following the orders from Khan.
When asked if the boycott extended to the day’s session, he said some members had received the message while others were still catching up. “Some members have received the message; others will follow,” he said, highlighting ongoing institutional paralysis in parliamentary oversight.
Separately, the committee deferred its review of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) audit report for 2023-24, due to the absence of PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who was reportedly engaged with foreign delegates.
The PAC also examined the Audit Report of the Cabinet Division for 2023–24. Cabinet Division Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal disclosed that no official records of the Toshakhana – the state’s gift depository – exist prior to 1997, but promised to search for any missing documentation.
While insisting no laws had been violated in managing the Toshakhana, Afzal admitted that, due to a lack of clear regulations, officials had sometimes taken items directly. He added that new legal provisions would be drafted once Parliament passes amendments currently under review at the Prime Minister’s office. Under these proposals, public officeholders would be barred from accepting gifts from foreign delegates.
Afzal also revealed that no private appraisers had expressed interest in evaluating the Toshakhana’s collection. To address this, the Cabinet Division announced plans to assess the value of newly received gifts by inviting bids from private evaluators.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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