PAC Blacklists 8 NGOs for Audit Failures

Karachi, July 16, 2025, 02:41 PM PKT — The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly has delivered a harsh verdict, ordering the blacklisting of eight non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for failing to submit audit records, invoices, and expenditure details tied to over Rs800 million in Community Development Programme funding, decided during a Tuesday meeting chaired by Nisar Khuhro, with members Khurram Karim Soomro, Makhdoom Fakhar-uz-Zaman, and Taha Ahmed, alongside Planning and Development Secretary Sajjad Abbasi. The session tackled 2019-2020 audit paras, revealing 16 NGOs funded in 2018 for health, education, and skills projects, but eight withheld documentation, prompting PAC Chairman Khuhro to direct the Social Welfare Department to revoke their registrations.

The committee also probed the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO), flagging 8-10% interest on Rs10,000 micro-loans to widowed and impoverished women in 100 union councils across Kashmore, Jacobabad, and Shikarpur, despite the UC-Based Poverty Reduction Programme’s interest-free pledge. SRSO’s CEO claimed a documentation error via village organizations, triggering a fact-finding probe. Further, SRSO holds Rs380 million in unreturned interest from Rs9.67 billion across six districts (2018-2024), with a return promise pending formal request, sparking another investigation. The PAC reinstated suspended Project Director Pervez Ahmed of the People’s Poverty Reduction Programme after his apology for audit delays. Web context notes funding oversight issues, while posts found on X show outrage—some demand accountability, others question enforcement. Critically, the narrative of “financial discipline” may mask implementation gaps—web data hints at past lapses, and X sentiment suggests distrust in effective action, pointing to ongoing scrutiny.