The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Sindh Assembly, chaired by Nisar Khuhro, on Tuesday ordered the blacklisting of eight non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including HANDS and SRSO, and the cancellation of their registrations and licenses for failing to provide audit records for over Rs. 800 million in funding under the Community Development Program. The Social Welfare Department was also directed to aptly enforce the subsequent cancellations.

The meeting, attended by PAC members Khurram Karim Soomro, Mukhdoom Fakhruz Zaman, Taha Ahmed, Secretary Planning and Development Sajjad Abbasi, and other officials, reviewed audit reports for 2019 and 2020. It revealed that eight NGOs—HANDS, SRSO, IBA Karachi, Health Education Literacy Program (HELP), Engro Foundation, Women and Children Medical Care Trust, District Development Association Tharparkar, and others—received over Rs800 million for health and skill development projects but failed to submit expenditure details, invoices, or SRB registration certificates despite three notices.

Specific allocations included Rs. 18.5 million to HANDS for health projects, Rs. 25.4 million to SRSO for skill training, Rs. 22.7 million to HELP for health, Rs. 935,000 to Engro Foundation for education, Rs. 12 million to Women and Children Medical Care Trust for health, Rs. 11.8 million to IBA Karachi for skill education, and Rs. 22.7 million to District Development Association Tharparkar for skill development. Khuhro demanded clarity on the funded projects and their outcomes, criticizing the NGOs’ non-compliance.

The PAC also uncovered irregularities in the People’s Poverty Reduction Program, where SRSO was allocated Rs. 1 billion for 100 union councils in Kashmore-Kandhkot, Jacobabad, and Shikarpur. SRSO admitted in a written submission to charging an 8–10% markup interest on Rs. 10,000 interest-free loans meant for poor women for sewing and embroidery, contradicting its claim of no interest. The PAC ordered a fact-finding probe into this discrepancy and SRSO’s retention of Rs. 380 million in interest from Rs. 9.67 billion allocated for poverty reduction across six districts (Khairpur, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Badin, and Thatta) from 2018 to 2024, which remained unreturned post-project closure in June 2025. SRSO’s CEO stated the funds would be returned upon receiving a formal letter from the Planning Department.

Additionally, the PAC reinstated Pervez Ahmed, the suspended Project Director of the People’s Poverty Reduction Program, after he apologized for delays in providing audit records.