New AGP vows to restore credibility after audit report controversy

ISLAMABAD: The newly appointed Auditor General of Pakistan, Maqbool Ahmed Gondal, on Tuesday vowed to restore the credibility of the Auditor General’s office (AGP) following controversy involving the Consolidated Audit Report of the Federal Government for the Audit Year 2024-25, which contained abnormally inflated and unrealistic figures in the federal government’s accounts.

According to senior officials close to Gondal, he is determined to take all necessary measures to restore the institution’s credibility, which has been severely damaged by the 2024-25 audit report.

At the same time, a top official at the AGP office clarified that the details of the recently leaked report are part of a non-statutory document and do not represent the final version.

“The statutory report, which is the final and complete document, has been presented to the President and Prime Minister for approval. None of its details have been leaked or reported in the media or elsewhere,” he added.

Sources said the new AGP will have to clean up the mess left by his predecessor, after the Auditor General’s office backtracked on a controversial report that showed an astronomical figure for irregularities unearthed in the federal government’s accounts.

Gondal, who was appointed for a fixed tenure of four years, is set to review the reporting structure and methodologies adopted in the report and will take all necessary remedial measures to address the serious errors committed.

Another major challenge Gondal will face is efforts to make the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) functional. “Right now, with the resignation of PAC Chairman Junaid Akhbar Khan, the PAC is almost non-functional; only its sub-committees are active, which is insufficient to address major financial issues related to government finances,” the official said.

He added that only the statutory report approved by the President and Prime Minister will be discussed in the PAC.

The original report, released in August this year, contained the illogical figure of irregularities worth Rs376 trillion – nearly 3.5 times the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025