Senate Panel Raises Alarm Over Misuse of Flood‑Recovery Money in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

On July 22, 2026, the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs gathered in the capital to chew over a troubling report coming out of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Presiding over the session was Senator Saifullah Abro, who opened the floor with a blunt observation: money meant for flood‑hit districts appears to be ending up in places that were barely touched by the disaster.

Senator Rubina Khalid, a vocal member of the panel, pointed to the road‑building statistics that had just been briefed by the province’s Communication & Works (C&W) Department. “We have sixteen new roads in Mardan,” she said, “yet Mardan was not among the worst‑hit districts.” The same pattern, she noted, repeated itself in Dir – a combined twelve kilometres of roads laid out in Upper and Lower Dir, even though the area suffered extensive damage that still needs repair.

Adding to the chorus, Senator Hidayatullah reminded the committee that nine roads have already been completed in Peshawar city, a location that escaped major flooding this year. “Projects are being shifted to ‘less‑affected’ or even ‘unaffected’ locales for political mileage,” he argued, suggesting that genuine rehabilitation work in the most devastated valleys – Chitral, parts of Mardan and the river‑ravaged districts – remains woefully under‑funded.

Senator Waqar Mehdi pressed the point further, warning that donors could be misled about where their foreign loans and grants are actually being spent. “If we hide the truth now, the credibility of future aid programmes will be at stake,” he cautioned.

The provincial officials, who were present to answer questions, replied that once foreign loans are transferred to the province the implementation responsibility shifts to the provincial government. The federal Economic Affairs Division, they said, has a support role – mainly to unclog disbursement bottlenecks.

Meanwhile, the committee did not limit its scrutiny to KP alone. A brief discussion followed about alleged interference by World Bank staff in a separate foreign‑funded infrastructure scheme in Sindh, and the panel asked the Economic Affairs Division to look into that matter as well.

As the hearing drew to a close, Senator Abro urged the provincial authorities to produce a transparent, district‑wise breakdown of all flood‑rehabilitation spending. “People deserve to see where their money is going,” he concluded, echoing the sentiment that has been building across the nation since the monsoons wreaked havoc earlier this year.