Press Release Title: Senator Saifullah Abro, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House Islamabad

Press Release Date: 2nd July, 2026

Senate Committee to Brief Honourable Prime Minister on Delays, Irregularities and Alleged Corruption in Foreign-Funded Projects; Seeks FIA and NAB Action, Questions Procurement Practices in Sindh Development Schemes   The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs met under the chairmanship of Senator Saifullah Abro to review the mechanism adopted by the federal and provincial governments for obtaining foreign loans and to assess the progress of foreign-funded development projects in Sindh. At the outset of the meeting, Committee directed the EAD to ensure the presence of Secretary, Irrigation Department, Government of Sindh in the committee proceedings.   The committee's proceedings were dominated by discussions on a letter issued by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) questioning the committee's jurisdiction in matters relating to action on significant irregularities and alleged corruption identified in foreign-funded projects across the country. Senator Kamran Murtaza expressed his displeasure that a Section Officer had written a letter stating that the matter did not fall within the committee's jurisdiction. He said the committee should first determine whether it had the authority to proceed, adding that if the committee lacked jurisdiction, there would be no purpose in continuing the meeting. He also demanded that the letter be read out in the meeting.   Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro questioned whether the Secretary, Economic Affairs was satisfied with the contents and wording of the letter issued by the Section Officer of the Ministry and directed that letter be read out before the Committee. He further directed that concerned Section Officer, along with a representative of the Ministry of Law and Justice, be summoned before the Committee to explain the matter.   Senator Kamil Ali Agha termed the entire exercise an attempt to create confusion and divert attention from the significant irregularities and alleged corruption identified by the Committee in various foreign-funded projects across the country. He observed that the letter reflected an adversarial approach towards parliamentary oversight and expressed concern that such actions could undermine the Committee's efforts to ensure transparency, accountability, and proper utilization of foreign-funded resources. He maintained that the Senate's constitutional role was to monitor state institutions. He further observed that if the language and contents of the letter had been examined carefully beforehand, the situation would not have arisen.   He remarked that the wording of the letter gave the impression that those responsible for obtaining foreign loans believed they alone were entitled to decide how those funds would be used without parliamentary scrutiny.   The Secretary, Economic Affairs clarified that there was no element of disrespect towards Parliament in the letter and stated that Senate recommendations had always been implemented. He informed the Committee that it had earlier directed the Economic Affairs Division to write to the FIA and NAB regarding a matter relating to the Power Division. However, he said the Economic Affairs Division could not directly write such a letter against another ministry and had therefore sought legal opinion from the Ministry of Law. He accepted full responsibility for the letter and its contents and reiterated that the division had not challenged the authority of either the Senate or the committee.   He explained that legal opinion had been sought only to determine the procedure applicable to the Economic Affairs Division under the Rules of Business. He also acknowledged that the wording of the letter could have been drafted with greater care and sensitivity Senator Kamran Murtaza asked the Secretary Economic Affairs whether he accepted the contents of the letter and whether the ministry's position implied that senators had exceeded their authority. While stating that the committee did not object to the ministry seeking legal opinion, he said the committee would respect the legal opinion once received. He further appreciated the Secretary for accepting responsibility, adding that otherwise the responsibility would have rested with the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs.   Senator Kamran Murtaza also observed that foreign-funded loans were largely utilised for projects in Punjab, while the financial burden arising from cost escalations and corruption was ultimately borne by provinces including Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He further noted that in foreign-funded projects, designs were frequently altered after loan approvals, no action was taken against responsible officials, and contract prices were deliberately kept low initially so that costs could later be increased. Senator Dilawar Khan stated that the committee had identified huge irregularities in projects financed through foreign loans. He said the Economic Affairs Division facilitated foreign borrowing while project implementation remained the responsibility of executing ministries. He questioned why the division felt the need to seek legal opinion instead of acting on the committee's recommendations. He also maintained that the mandate of the Ministry as defined in the Rules of Business, 1973 was internal administrative rules and did not require seeking legal opinion regarding implementation of Senate committee directives.   Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro stated that alleged corruption in foreign-funded projects had been established during previous committee meetings and that officials of the Economic Affairs Division present in those meetings had acknowledged this fact. He recalled that the committee had instructed the Economic Affairs Division to refer projects involving allegations of corruption to NAB and the FIA for further investigation. He asserted that Committee itself possessed the authority to directly refer the matters to the PAC, NAB and the FIA, but had instead asked the Economic Affairs Division to act in order to strengthen its oversight role in foreign-funded projects.   Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro said the Honourable Prime Minister had suspended nine senior officers and four members of the National Highway Authority on the basis of the committee's findings and had never sought legal opinion from the Ministry of Law and Justice before taking action. The Chairman warned that the committee would express regret in its communication to PAC, NAB and the FIA by specifically mentioning the non-cooperation of both the Economic Affairs Division and the Power Division. Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro, also expressed concern over the practice of junior officers corresponding directly with parliamentary committees on matters of significant importance. He observed that senior management bears the primary responsibility for ensuring institutional accountability and effective governance. He directed the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to advise its officials to extend full cooperation to parliamentary committees and facilitate their proceedings, rather than creating procedural impediments in the discharge of their oversight functions.   Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi inquired whether the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) had written to the implementing departments after receiving the opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice. In response, the Secretary, EAD, acknowledged that no such correspondence had been made with the concerned implementing departments in this regard. Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi expressed concern over the apparent inaction of the EAD despite the irregularities identified by the Committee. He questioned why the Division had not fulfilled its oversight responsibilities in this regard and observed that the failure to pursue the matter with the concerned departments could create the impression that the identified irregularities were not being addressed with the seriousness they warranted.   Senators Mahmood-ul-Hassan, Syed Waqar Mehdi, Kamran Murtaza, Kamil Ali Agha, Haji Hidayatullah Khan and Ahmed Khan proposed that committee's investigation report and recommendations be forwarded to the Honourable Prime Minister, PAC, NAB and FIA for necessary action. After detailed deliberations, the Commitee unanimously decided that it will write directly to NAB and the FIA seeking inquiries into two Power Division projects and other projects and directed the Economic Affairs Division to submit within three days all correspondence exchanged with the concerned ministry along with its implementation report. He said the report would subsequently be forwarded to the Honourable Prime Minister, the Public Accounts Committee, NAB and the FIA for further action.   The Committee also decided to apprise the Honourable Prime Minister of the delays, significant irregularities, and alleged instances of corruption identified in various foreign-funded projects that have remained under the Committee’s review. During the meeting, a representative of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) informed the committee that major procurement reforms had been proposed to enhance transparency, curb corruption, and minimize delays in project implementation. He further stated that provinces were also expected to adopt the federal procurement framework to promote uniformity and strengthen governance in public procurement. However, Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro pointed out that provinces were still not uploading tenders and bid evaluation reports online. He specifically noted that although the Irrigation and Highways Departments of the Government of Sindh had lately adopted the e-PADS procurement system, concerns regarding transparency in the procurement process continued to persist.   Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro further stated that consultants often played a decisive role in public contracting processes. He also highlighted that under the Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (SPPRA) system, complainants against public contracts were required to deposit 10 percent of the contract value along with their complaint, adding that complaints had virtually stopped after introduction of this condition. The PPRA representative informed the committee that procurement procedures differed among provinces. The committee reiterated its commitment to ensuring transparency, accountability and effective parliamentary oversight in the utilisation of foreign loans and foreign-funded development projects across the country.   While reviewing the progress of the Sindh Road Sector Projects, including the Emergency Flood Assistance Project (EFAP) financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Committee expressed displeasure over the submission of incomplete information by the Irrigation Department, Government of Sindh. The Committee sought details regarding the 25 packages under Phase-II of the project; however, the representative of the Irrigation Department was unable to provide the requisite information. The Committee informed that advertisement for certain packages had been published on 25th April, 2025, while the bid submission deadline was fixed for 28th April, 2025. The Commitee expressed serious concern over the limited time provided to prospective bidders, questioning how bidders could reasonably prepare and submit their proposals within a period of only three days including Saturday and Sunday.   The Committee recommended that the Irrigation Department, Government of Sindh, provide complete details of the 25 packages, including the tendering process, engineering estimates, bid costs and copies of the published advertisements, for the Committee’s consideration. Regarding the progress of the ongoing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects in Sindh, the Chairman Committee recommended that Government of Sindh provide comprehensive details to the Committee regarding procurement of busses regarding all BRT projects, including fare structure, and all tending process.   The meeting was attended by Senators Haji Hidayatullah Khan, Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan, Syed Waqar Mehdi, Kamran Murtaza, and Kamil Ali Agha, as well as Senators Dilawar Khan and Ahmed Khan as Special Invitees. Senior officials from the Economic Affairs Division, the Government of Sindh, and other concerned departments were also in attendance.