LAHORE (Kashmir English): A financial audit has raised serious concerns about irregular spending by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealing that over 4.17 million was spent on unauthorized perks Mohsin Naqvi, chairman PCB and as well as Federal Interior Minister, reported by Nukta.
The Auditor General of Pakistan found that between February and June 2024 that the PCB paid for Naqvi’s utility bill fuels costs and hotel stays even though he was already entitled to those benefit through his position in the federal cabinet.
Ministers get government-funded allowances for housing, official cars, and utilities under the Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975. These allowances are now capped at PKR 22,000 per month.
Receiving the identical advantages from two different public sources was illegal and immoral, according to the audit, which concluded that the PCB’s payments were a blatant instance of duplicate benefits.
“As a federal minister, the Chairman was already entitled to these privileges. Accepting the same benefits from PCB amounts to double compensation,” the audit report noted.
PCB Statement
PCB management responded to the findings by arguing that the chairman’s costs were within the board’s own rules and defended the payments by pointing to internal protocols. They maintained that the legislation makes no specific mention of ministers being granted extra compensation for taking on more than one duty.
That answer, however, was dismissed by auditors as “legally indefensible.” They stressed that the federal treasury, not a publicly sponsored sports organization like the PCB, must pay for all benefits associated with a federal minister’s job.
Order for Recovery
The audit has mandated that Naqvi personally reimburse PKR 1.16 million for hotel expenses. According to the paper, this particular sum had to be refunded because it was used for his private accommodations in Islamabad.
