Bugti tribes paid Rs89m during Balochistan offensive

Audit reveals clans opposing Akbar Bugti received money during Musharraf era.

ISLAMABAD:

Pro-government Bugti tribesmen were paid Rs89 million from Baitulmaal funds when former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf launched a military offensive against Nawab Akbar Bugti, an audit report revealed on Tuesday.

The expenses were incurred from 2003 to 2006 and camouflaged under the administrative budget of the Baitulmaal - a welfare organisation that provides assistance to the needy, according to the audit report presented at a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting.

Despite raising objections over the use of taxpayer money and that too out of the Baitulmaal budget, the PAC condoned the expenses and settled the audit objection.

Nawab Bugti was killed in a military operation in August 2006, which fanned the insurgency in Balochistan.

The deputy managing director of Baitulmaal told the PAC that the previous government had paid the tribes opposed to Nawaz Bugti in five districts of Punjab, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Muzaffargarh. He said every tribesman was paid Rs300 as a monthly stipend for a period of three years, but the practice was discontinued after the present government came into power. He said these clans helped the military to launch its operation against Nawab Bugti.

Former premier’s car

In an unrelated report, PAC’s audit department told the committee that the Presidency had spent Rs8.7 million to repair the Mercedes Benz of former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, which was damaged during a suicide attack on the former premier.

The PAC directed that if a record for verifying expenses was not produced in seven days, then the responsibility should be fixed against the officials who were hindering the work of the audit department.

In another disclosure, the audit department revealed that former interim prime minister Mohammadmian Soomro sanctioned a contingency grant of Rs748,612 to compensate an official accused of corruption, who caused around Rs4 million loss to the national exchequer.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2012.