‘SAFRON misusing UN funds for 30 years’

Audit department reveals ministry using UNHCR funds to finance foreign trips, refurbish offices.


Shahbaz Rana September 26, 2012

ISLAMABAD:


The audit department revealed on Saturday that United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) funds, meant for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, were being misused by the ministry of states and frontier regions (Safron) for the last three decades.


The disclosure was made at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Federal Audit Director General Dr Asif told the PAC that the ministry had opened a separate account for the UNHCR funds, through which it had financed foreign trips, air-conditioners for the office of the secretary and furniture for government offices.

The retention of money and earning interest is illegal as the account was opened without the consent of the finance ministry, Dr Asif added.

Currently, the deposit in the separate account is over Rs100 million, which is being claimed by the UNHCR.

Safron Secretary Habibullah Khan said the finance ministry has convened a meeting today (Wednesday) to decide the fate of the money. He maintained that the practice of keeping surplus funds in a separate account had been discontinued and the only outstanding issue now was the ownership of the Rs100 million.

Refugees

As the UN mounts pressure on Pakistan to integrate roughly 2.7 million Afghan refugees, the government has set up a ministerial committee to devise a policy to send the refugees back to Afghanistan, said a senior official.

Briefing the PAC on Tuesday, Safron Joint Secretary Dr Imran Zaib said the UNHCR was forcing authorities to integrate Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He added the refugees had become a burden on the country.

Dr Zaib said the UHNCR was only bearing their direct cost, while the indirect cost was borne by the country.

Safron Secretary Khan told the PAC that the four-member ministerial committee was responsible for devising a comprehensive plan to send over a million illegal refugees back to Afghanistan. The responsibility has been given to the ministers for defence, interior, foreign affairs and Safron, he added.

Interior ministry

The PAC on Tuesday termed officials of the interior ministry, especially Interior Secretary Khawaja Sadeeq Akbar, ‘untrustworthy’. The committee made the observations after Akbar failed to attend the meeting for the fourth consecutive time, leaving the ministry’s agenda unattended.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2012.

COMMENTS (1)

Amera Khan | 11 years ago | Reply

It's not news! We all know and are quite sensitised to how UNHCR and Safron collude to award projects- we are in because of the pashtun and expat connections!

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