LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has said that large-scale financial embezzlement and ghost employees have been exposed in the ‘Benazir Nashonuma Programme’ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As a result, the World Food Program has halted its operations in the province, Azma said, adding: “Despite claims of fighting corruption, Rs 799 million have vanished under the nose of Ali Amin Gandapur, and the public funds meant for their service are now being pocketed by social media trolls.”
She further stated that the World Food Program raised questions regarding financial irregularities and ghost employees in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. Official documents highlight discrepancies amounting to Rs 799 million in salaries alone.
Even funds allocated for the health of mothers and children have not been spared. Previously, Rs 700 million, intended for mosque Imams, were also mysteriously vanished, Azma said.
The Information Minister added that all these funds are being diverted to social media brigades running campaigns against Pakistan and its institutions. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Adviser writes to the federal government every week requesting funds, but these federal funds are being distributed to those propagating anti-army rhetoric rather than benefiting the Pashtun people, she added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025