ISLAMABAD: Reluctant to publicly disclose the names of the 620 beneficiaries who received a $3 billion ‘soft loan’ disbursed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government during the Covid-19 pandemic, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that he would prefer to share details with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in an in-camera meeting.

The PAC, which convened on Wednesday, was informed that SBP had executed the soft loan scheme through commercial banks and that revealing the details of the beneficiaries would breach the confidentiality agreement between the banks and their clients .

These arguments did not sit well with MNA Barjees Tahir, who said: “Just tell us the names of these 620 people.”

The PAC took up the issue of the loans during the PTI regime for the second consecutive time on Wednesday, insisting that public funds were used for the loans and the names of the beneficiaries must be disclosed.

PAC agrees to in-camera session; demands forensic audit, details of fund utilisation

On Tuesday, the PAC instructed a joint investigation by the FIA, NAB, Auditor General of Pakistan, and Military Intelligence into the matter.

On Wednesday, once again, PAC Chairman MNA Noor Alam Khan ordered that an inquiry into the matter was essential to ensure that no favours were granted and to evaluate the benefits gained from the loans.

Members of the PAC had been demanding a list of the 600-plus businesspersons to whom commercial banks provided around $3bn in loans at a zero mark-up rate for 10 years during the pandemic.

In response, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad said the loans were intended for industry and machinery.

“It had no foreign currency exchange. It was revised to five per cent,” the SBP governor said, adding that more than 85pc of lending was through private banks. Of this, 42pc of borrowers were from the textile sector. Mr Ahmad informed the committee that the released funds were in rupees amounting to Rs394bn, but PAC members challenged the governor’s claim.

Senator Mohsin Aziz asked whether the intended purpose of the scheme had been fulfilled. Senator Salim Mandviwala also demanded a forensic audit of the scheme and sought details on how the funds were utilised.

According to Finance Secretary Imadullah Bosal, the loans were granted under the refinance scheme, which was carried out under the mandate of the SBP.

Nonetheless, the PAC agreed to the proposal of the SBP governor and decided to hold an in-camera meeting.

However, while reviewing audit objections for the year 2019-20 related to the FBR, the PAC directed its chairman to submit the list of staff members who had been posted at the “lucrative” Karachi station for more than three years.

In response, FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad informed the meeting that there were no provisions in the law to transfer staff to another station.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2023