The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered a high-level inquiry against WAPDA officials for allegedly extending undue financial favor to Bank Alfalah, allowing a Rs. 10 billion investment despite the bank’s failure to meet essential bid criteria.
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According to official documents reviewed by TaazaTaren, the audit of WAPDA’s GM (Finance) Power accounts for July 2022 to June 2023 uncovered serious irregularities. On December 19, 2022, WAPDA invested Rs. 10 billion with Bank Alfalah at a profit rate of 17.11% per annum. However, this bid lacked a crucial term outlined in the original Request for Proposal (RFP): the right of premature encashment after six months without penalty — a mandatory condition for all participating banks.
Despite this violation of the evaluation criteria, Bank Alfalah’s bid was accepted — an act audit authorities say amounts to preferential treatment. “The investment was irregular and favored the bank without justification,” the audit report states.
The Development and Audit Committee (DAC) had earlier, on March 21, 2025, directed WAPDA to initiate a formal inquiry at the Ministry level, with representation from the Finance Division.
WAPDA’s Defense: Profit First, Terms Later?: WAPDA has defended the move, claiming all banks were quoting one-year TDR (Term Deposit Receipt) rates and that the Bank Alfalah offer was the most competitive. WAPDA’s rationale was based on securing the highest return while retaining flexibility for urgent withdrawals to fund national projects such as Dasu, Mohmand, and Bhasha Dams.
Yet, the profit margin difference cited by WAPDA — a 1.06% advantage over the next best bid — does little to explain why the required encashment clause was ignored, especially when tied to large-scale infrastructure financing.
The competing bids were:
- Bank Alfalah Ltd – 17.11% (no premature encashment clause)
- Bank of Punjab – 17.01%
- Allied Bank Ltd – 16.05%
- Bank AL Habib Ltd – 15.50%
- Askari Bank Ltd – 15.00%
Experts question whether a mere 0.1% gain over Bank of Punjab justifies overriding compliance rules and exposing billions in public funds to liquidity risk.
PAC Orders Ministry-Level Probe Within One Month: After extensive deliberation, the PAC upheld DAC’s directive and instructed the Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) to launch an inquiry and submit findings within 30 days.
The case raises troubling questions about transparency in public sector investments, potential backdoor dealings, and the role of Bank Alfalah in what appears to be a procedural bypass for financial gain.
With billions at stake and growing calls for accountability, the outcome of this inquiry could have serious implications for both WAPDA and Bank Alfalah.
