Missing Funds.

The Auditor General of Pakistan's report regarding embezzlement and misappropriation of funds in various ministries is nothing short of shocking. Rs12 billion have disappeared, but this does not even account for the whopping Rs258 billion that is missing as a result of irregularities.

It is not surprising that these misappropriations are an endemic issue in government departments. However, the fact that this report only covers the year 2018-2019 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf's (PTI) first full year in power should be a serious cause for concern.

This is a bigger problem than first feared, because the PTI government has made transparency and accountability its mantra from the very beginning. And judging by the reported statement of Federal Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar, there has been progress made on this front up to as much as 80 percent.

The numbers in question though, are still too significant to be chalked off as an actual achievement. Rs12 billion was found to have been stolen, but in all likelihood, this is an underestimate because there is no telling how much of the Rs258 billion was pilfered...