ISLAMABAD: A new auditor general will have to clean up the mess left by his predecessor, after the Auditor General of Pakistan’s (AGP) office backtracked on a controversial report, which gave an astronomical figure for irregularities unearthed in the federal government’s accounts.

Maqbool Ahmed Gondal was sworn in as the country’s 22nd AGP on Monday, at a ceremony held in the Supreme Court.

Appointed for a fixed tenure of four years, Mr Gondal will immediately have to deal with the fallout from the AGP office’s U-turn its ‘Consolidated Audit Report of Federal Government for the Audit Year 2024-25’.

The original report, released in August this year, contained the illogical figure of irregularities worth Rs376 trillion, which is 3.5 times more than the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP).

After repeatedly defending its controversial audit report, containing astronomical figure of ‘irregularities’, auditor general’s office finally blames ‘typos’ for the discrepancy

It had alleged procurement-related irregularities of Rs284tr, defective civil works worth Rs85.6tr, receivables of Rs2.5tr, and unresolved circular debt of Rs1.2tr.

The figures implied financial anomalies far beyond the size of Pakistan’s kitty, sparking disbelief even within government circles.

Although the outgoing auditor general,........

© Dawn Business