A REPORT by the auditor general of Pakistan for 2010-11 says financial irregularities of over Rs12.5bn have been committed by the defence services, comprising the ministries of defence and defence production. The irregularities include violation of procurement rules, irregular payments as well as fraud. Among the various instances of financial murkiness cited in the report, there is the case of military land in Lahore which has been turned into a commercial golf course instead of being sold off to raise funds for new military headquarters in Islamabad. A more serious case of fraud involves a firm supplying only two frequency converters instead of the requisite eight, yet managing to obtain a bogus inspection report and thereafter receiving payment of nearly Rs16m. A report published in this paper earlier in the year highlighted the fact that the defence services had failed to fully comply with most of the Public Accounts Committee’s directives, while the services had also failed to make significant recoveries as recommended by the auditor general. The services had been asked to recover over Rs4bn, yet managed to get back only Rs73m.

There have long been calls for greater transparency of the military’s financial affairs and in this regard it is welcome that such details are being highlighted. Irregularities occur in all departments; the beauty of accountability is that it allows corrective measures to be taken. But if serious fraud is habitually being committed — as some of these cases suggest — then the armed forces need to clarify the situation as it is public funds which are being misused. The defence services are the largest recipients of public funds. There needs to be better internal financial discipline within the forces so that the leaks can be plugged while it must be ensured that funds are only spent on what they are meant for. The suggestion that the defence services’ internal audit reports be sent to the auditor general to ensure greater transparency merits attention. Financial indiscipline can never be tolerated; yet in these tough economic times it is all the more imperative that the armed forces trim the fat and stamp out internal financial corruption.