Auditor General’s report, new Pandora’s box on smart cards has opened

Web Desk: Auditor General of Pakistan has opened a new Pandora’s box in the annual report of 2022-23 regarding smart cards.
AGP’s audit report for the financial year 2022-23 revealed that the NADRA management should have obtained security clearance from the government agencies regarding the final selected bidder after examining the procurement file of 3 crore smart cards.
The AG audit report stated that the auditors demanded clearance records from the government intelligence agency regarding the purchase of smart cards from the NADRA administration on September 29, 2022, but the records were not provided.
With reference to NADRA Smart Card, it is said that this card contains the complete details of the user.
The card includes several security features including hologram and microtext to prevent counterfeiting.
Referring to the auditor general’s report, the NADRA administration said that as per clause 11.6 of the bid document, the security clearance of the selected bidder was not mandatory.
The 4,566-page audit report on smart cards was apparently an audit of the Shehbaz Sharif-led PDM government. According to the report, non-verification of bid documents and relevant references falls under the category of irregularities.
In the audit report, it has also been mentioned that there has been excessive purchase of smart cards worth 4.5 million US dollars. However, as per SOPs, it is necessary to have 6 months of cards in stock to avoid any unexpected situation.
The report also stated that before issuing the purchase order for the purchase of 3 crore smart cards and after that, a substantial number of 1 crore 66 lakh 73 thousand cards were already available.
The Auditor General’s annual report on smart cards for 2022-23 has opened a new Pandora’s box.