Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar pledged to personally pursue the registration of an FIR in the Rs 1.24 billion APP embezzlement scandal, as senators raised alarms over a ten-month delay despite audit confirmations and PAC directives.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has vowed to personally pursue the embezzlement case involving Rs 1.24 billion in the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), amid strong criticism over delayed legal action.
Speaking at a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting, the minister responded to a pointed question by Senator Sarmad Ali, who demanded to know why no FIR had been filed even after more than ten months since the scam surfaced.
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Tarar stated that the fraud related to misappropriation of provident fund and employee-related expenses was originally uncovered by APP Managing Director Muhammad Asim Khichi, and that documentary evidence had already been submitted to the Federal Investigation Agency.
“I will take this matter up personally. The FIR must be registered, and those involved must face accountability,” Tarar assured the committee.
The scam was also flagged in the Commercial Audit Reports for 2023–24 and 2025–26, and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had previously directed the FIA to initiate action for recovery of the stolen funds.
The meeting was chaired by Senator Barrister Ali Zafar and attended by Senators Irfan Siddiqui, Pervaiz Rashid, Jan Mohammad Belaidi, and Syed Waqar Mehdi, as well as senior officials including Information Secretary Ambreen Jan and Additional Secretary Ashfaq Khalil.
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Following the session, Senator Waqar Mehdi spoke to the media, expressing concern over the government’s delay:
“This is a serious lapse. When APP itself has provided evidence, what’s holding the process back? I’ll be raising this in the Senate,” Mehdi said.
The committee called for urgent steps to ensure accountability and restore institutional integrity at APP, Pakistan’s state-run news agency.
