A special audit report has revealed embezzlement worth billions of rupees in accounts of different shrines in Punjab, which are managed by the provincial Auqaf Department.

 

According to a report by HUM News, the audit revealed that Rs860 million (86 crores) was withdrawn from the accounts of Lahore’s Data Darbar during the financial years 2015 to 2018. The funds were a sum of 33 transactions, but there is no record of how the money was spent.

 

The report further said that around 48 suspicious transactions amounting to Rs190 million (19 crores) were made from the accounts of Pakpattan Sharif Darbar.

 

The audit report pointed to alleged fraud involving rental income from more than 600 commercial shops owned by Auqaf in Jhang and Okara, with an estimated loss of Rs 135 million (13.5 crores). 

 

Furthermore, the report uncovered that hundreds of kanals of commercial land had been leased out at a nominal rate of just Rs 1 per year for a 99-year term. According to the report, Rs35 million (3.5 crores) was also withdrawn from the accounts of Baba Farid’s shrine.

 

With the audit report recommending a thorough investigation into the financial activities of the Auqaf Department, an official statement from the department remains pending.