KARACHI / ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised concerns over the failure to identify and tag Rs 624 billion worth of assets belonging to power distribution companies (DISCOs), warning that incomplete records and valuations could expose public property to theft and undermine the planned privatization process. During a committee meeting, audit officials stressed that DISCO assets must be properly identified and valued before privatization to ensure transparency and prevent the government from selling public assets below their actual market worth.
The Auditor General of Pakistan also warned that proceeding without certified valuations could result in DISCOs being sold using outdated figures from the previous financial year. d that the value of land owned by the distribution companies runs into trillions of rupees. Committee member Chaudhry Naseer questioned the valuation of these properties, while MNA Munaza Hassan called for postponing privatization until the actual worth of the assets was established.
Senator Afnanullah, however, clarified that DISCO owned land would not be sold as part of the privatization process but would instead be leased. Officials also confirmed that Quetta Electric Supply Company and Tribal Electric Supply Company were excluded from the privatization plan. The PAC directed the Power Division to submit certified valuations of DISCO assets within three months, alongside a comprehensive plan explaining the future of the companies’ employees.