Karachi, September 20, 2025 — A startling revelation has emerged from Sindh: records of thousands of pensioners from multiple government departments have gone missing, creating the risk that pensions may be fraudulently drawn in the names of non-existent or deceased beneficiaries.
The disclosure came during a session of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly, chaired by senior lawmaker Nisar Khuhro. The meeting was attended by committee members including Qasim Siraj Soomro and Taha Ahmed, as well as the Secretary of the Finance Department, Fayaz Jatoi, and several District Accounts Officers from across the province. The committee was reviewing audit observations for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 when the issue of missing pension records came to light.
Thousands of Files Missing
Officials informed the committee that in several districts, pension files had either been misplaced or not maintained properly, resulting in incomplete or missing records for thousands of retired employees. The absence of proper documentation has raised fears that “ghost pensioners” — individuals who are either ineligible or already deceased — may still be receiving payments.
Such irregularities not only put a strain on the provincial treasury but also highlight longstanding weaknesses in administrative oversight. Committee members expressed frustration at how such a large-scale lapse could go unnoticed until audits exposed the discrepancies.
Committee’s Directive: One-Month Deadline
To address the issue, the PAC has ordered all government departments in Sindh to submit the complete pension records of their retired employees to their respective District Accounts Offices within one month. Departments that fail to comply will face the blocking of suspicious pension IDs, effectively halting payments until verification is completed.
Chairman Nisar Khuhro underscored the urgency of the matter, warning that the committee will not tolerate negligence in handling public funds. “The disappearance of pensioners’ records raises serious questions of governance. We will ensure that only genuine pensioners receive their rightful dues,” he said.
A Broader Pattern of Mismanagement
The revelation is not an isolated incident. In recent years, audit reports across Sindh and other provinces have frequently flagged irregularities in pension disbursement systems. Weak record-keeping, outdated manual systems, and a lack of digitization have allowed fraudulent practices to flourish.
Experts point out that without a centralized digital database of pensioners, the system remains vulnerable to manipulation. In many cases, heirs of deceased pensioners continue to receive payments for years due to poor verification mechanisms.
The Financial Impact
Pensions make up a significant portion of Sindh’s annual budgetary allocations, with billions of rupees earmarked for retired civil servants each year. Missing records create uncertainty about how much of these funds are reaching legitimate recipients. If fraudulent payments have indeed been made, the financial losses to the provincial exchequer could run into hundreds of millions of rupees.
The Secretary of Finance, Fayaz Jatoi, assured the committee that steps would be taken to improve record-keeping and verification processes. However, he acknowledged that systemic reforms — including digitization and biometric verification — are urgently needed to restore transparency.
Towards Digital Reforms?
The PAC’s directive may accelerate ongoing efforts to modernize pension systems in Sindh. Proposals have long been on the table to link pensions with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), ensuring that payments cease automatically upon the death of a pensioner. Some pilot projects involving biometric verification at banks have already been introduced, but full implementation remains patchy.
Analysts argue that the current crisis presents an opportunity to overhaul the system. “This is not just about missing files — it is about the lack of a secure, transparent, and digital pension management system. Unless reforms are implemented, ghost pensions will continue to drain public resources,” said one financial governance expert.
Human Impact
For genuine pensioners, the issue adds to existing hardships. Delays in pension disbursements are already a common complaint among retirees, many of whom rely solely on these payments for survival. If pension IDs are blocked without careful verification, innocent beneficiaries could be unfairly penalized.
Committee members emphasized that while fraudulent pensions must be stopped, the government must also ensure that legitimate pensioners do not suffer as a result of administrative failures.
Conclusion
The disappearance of thousands of pensioners’ records in Sindh is a glaring reminder of the challenges facing Pakistan’s public finance management systems. As the province grapples with potential fraud, the PAC’s strict deadlines and warnings represent an attempt to bring accountability.
However, real progress will depend on whether Sindh can move beyond manual files and fragmented data systems toward a fully digitized, transparent pension management framework. Until then, the risk of ghost pensions, financial leakages, and hardships for genuine retirees will continue to loom over the province’s governance landscape.
