New Delhi: A recent report by the Public Accounts Committee of Pakistan has revealed that the country gave away a $3-million grant it received from the Asian Development Bank to Syria and Turkey for their earthquake relief efforts. Pakistanis are amused. They are calling it “soft power projection by a bankrupt country”.
The funds, specifically allocated for the purchase of essential life-saving supplies for the 2022 flood victims, were used to procure winterised tents and blankets for those affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the report released Tuesday revealed.
The audit revealed that the PKR 552.599 million ($3 million) grant, earmarked for flood relief, had been misused in direct violation of the provisions of the grant agreement. According to the ADB’s agreement, the purpose of the grant was explicitly stated as providing life-saving services for the communities affected by the 2022 monsoon floods in Pakistan.
However, in what was termed an “emergency decision”, the winterised tents and blankets purchased with the grant were dispatched to Turkey and Syria instead. The committee, chaired by Junaid Akbar Khan, was examining the audit findings of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Ministry of Communications for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The NDMA, meanwhile, was quick to defend itself. It said that due to a tight timeline for relief efforts ordered by the Prime Minister, the relief items were urgently redirected to the earthquake-affected regions. The management assured that the items were replenished and restocked for their original purpose. Furthermore, during a subsequent meeting with the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC), the NDMA explained that the decision was made following the Prime Minister’s directive, and no unauthorised issuance of flood relief items occurred.
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What was the package all about?
The $554-million financing package was approved by the ADB to support Pakistan’s recovery and reconstruction efforts following the devastating floods of 2022. This package included a $475-million loan, along with a $3-million technical assistance grant from the ADB and a $5-million grant from the Government of Japan.
According to the ADB’s official page, it was used to restore critical infrastructure, such as irrigation, drainage, and transport systems, in the flood-affected provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh.
The 2022 Pakistan flood was devastating. More than 33 million people were affected, and total damage and losses were estimated at over $30 billion, with recovery needs amounting to approximately $16.3 billion.
The irony is not lost on Pakistanis.
“Not sure whether to laugh or cry. What a country. Bankrupt but gave away a grant for crumbs of attention,” Momin Sheikh wrote on X.
Others were downright angry. “God I hate this zardari fauji nawaz nexus.. I pray for their worst downfall ever. Not one thing in this forsaken country is functional. Not one,” another person angrily wrote.
However, it was one X user who aptly summed it up.
“This is not a country, it’s an embarrassing circus going on!” Zubair Khan wrote.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)