Governor's Adviser for Information and Public Relations, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Samar Haroon Bilour, has expressed concern over revelations of billions of rupees in financial irregularities in the province's financial system, as highlighted in the audit report for the fiscal year 2024-25.

She said that the objections raised regarding government expenditures, the development budget, and records of domestic and foreign loans require transparent investigations and the identification of those responsible.

According to Samar Haroon Bilour, billions of rupees spent from the provincial treasury during the PTI government could not be fully verified. The audit report pointed out that government expenditures amounting to Rs72.46 billion could not be fully verified, raising serious questions about transparency and accountability in the financial system.

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She questioned the basis on which additional entries worth Rs104.26 billion were made beyond the budget approved by the provincial assembly. Similarly, Rs153.68 billion in development expenditures were recorded under incorrect accounting heads, while additional entries worth Rs20.20 billion were also reported in the development budget, requiring clarification.

The Governor's Adviser said that a negative balance of Rs39.58 billion in the Public Account also raised questions about financial discipline. According to the audit report, accounting records for foreign loans worth Rs98.89 billion were incomplete, while payments amounting to Rs51.85 billion against foreign loans and their interest could not be fully verified.

Samar Haroon Bilour further said that records of provincial domestic loans had not been updated since the fiscal year 2017-18, indicating weaknesses in financial oversight. Similarly, records of loans obtained from the federal government had not been updated since 2013-14.

The audit report also identified additional entries worth billions of rupees in the budgets of key departments, including health, education, police and highways.

Samar Haroon Bilour said that every rupee collected through public taxes is a national trust and must be fully accounted for. She stressed the need for measures to ensure transparent scrutiny of all objections raised in the audit report, determine the reasons behind financial irregularities and identify those responsible.

She said that protecting public resources and ensuring financial transparency and accountability were essential.