Saif alleges financial irregularities in Punjab’s Ramadan Nighaban Package

Adviser to the Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Dr. Muhammad Ali Saif, has alleged significant financial mismanagement in Punjab’s Ramadan Nigehbaan Package 2024, initiated under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
Speaking to media representatives, Barrister Dr. Saif claimed that an audit report had revealed serious irregularities, including the disbursement of ration to ineligible recipients and major data discrepancies.
He accused the Punjab government of copying Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Ramadan relief model without proper planning or oversight, leading to substantial losses from the national treasury.
“Even copying requires intelligence,” Dr. Saif remarked. “Maryam Nawaz has squandered billions from the national exchequer by replicating Ali Amin Gandapur’s Ramadan package without due diligence.”
Citing the audit report, he claimed that 9,300 government employees—deemed ineligible—allegedly embezzled rations worth Rs 34.6 million.
Furthermore, an estimated 441,000 eligible recipients in Lahore, Rahim Yar Khan, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi did not receive their ration packets, amounting to a loss of Rs 1.63 billion.
Overall, the report suggests a financial discrepancy of Rs 1.81 billion due to faulty data, he added and questioned the distribution process, pointing out that around 500,000 ration packets were reportedly sent to incorrect addresses.
“If the addresses were wrong, the question arises—where did these packets actually go?” he asked.
He criticized the Punjab Food Authority for allegedly neglecting quality checks and held the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) and Deputy Commissioners responsible for failing to verify addresses and data accuracy.
He further accused the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) of negligence for not updating the list of eligible recipients in time.
Dr. Saif blamed the Punjab government’s alleged inefficiency on Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, accusing her of wasting taxpayer money due to administrative mismanagement.