PAC Questions Bahria University Over Rs 83.4M Unauthorized Foreign Exchange Spending, Orders Action on Contract Payment Irregularities
Nadeem Tanoli
ISLAMABAD – Bahria University, Islamabad, is facing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) scrutiny for unauthorized foreign exchange expenditures amounting to Rs 83.428 million in connection with its “Establishment of Electrical and Engineering Department” project, undertaken between 2007 and 2012. Audit findings revealed that the university spent the amount without any sanctioned foreign exchange budget, raising serious concerns over financial discipline.
According to the audit report, the university made tuition fee payments to the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and issued stipends to scholars by purchasing foreign currency from the open market. The practice was deemed both irregular and unauthorized. The university management informed the PAC that the case for regularization had been forwarded to the Finance Division through the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The committee directed Bahria University and the HEC to actively and vigorously pursue the matter until a decision is reached.
The audit also flagged two additional financial lapses. The first involved an unjustified reimbursement of Rs 3.75 million to contractors in the form of a rebate, which lacked a valid basis. The second related to an overpayment of Rs 3.63 million caused by calculating contract price escalation as a percentage rather than basing it on the actual consumption of steel and cement, directly contravening the relevant contractual clauses.
The PAC has instructed the university to provide a clear update on the implementation status of its internal inquiry report into these irregularities. It also ordered the institution to take immediate steps to recover the amounts involved and to prevent such breaches from recurring.
News Link :Bahria University Faces Audit Over Rs 83M Foreign Exchange Spending – Peak Point
