World Bank-Funded Yellow Line BRT Project Rocked by Rs. 8 Billion Corruption Scandal
Key suspect, Project Director Zameer Abbasi on the run, did not appear before any inquiry.
KARACHI – The World Bank-funded Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Yellow Line project has been marred by allegations of over Rs8 billion corruption, as the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has registered a criminal case against two senior government officials.
Reports of alleged multibillion-rupee corruption in the Yellow Line project — from Dawood Chowrangi, Quaidabad to Jam Sadiq Bridge — have been circulating on social media for weeks. The Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded an independent investigation to bring those responsible to justice and recover misappropriated public funds.
The Sindh government, however, remained silent on the issue, with the opposition JI accusing it of shielding “corrupt” officers who went underground to avoid arrest.
Official documents revealed that the Sindh government has been dealing with the matter since last month. On June 1, the Anti-Corruption Committee No. 1, headed by the chief secretary, communicated the issue to the ACE director general, asking him to register a case against accused officials.
As a result, the ACE has registered a case against Project Director Zameer Abbasi and Procurement Director Jhamandas for allegedly misusing their authority and making advance payments worth Rs8 billion to Yellow Line contractors, causing significant financial losses to the Sindh government.
The FIR was registered on behalf of the state against Abbasi, a grade-19 officer, and Jhamandas under Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 477-A, and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
Officials said the case was registered based on an inquiry dated May 29 into alleged financial mismanagement in three construction contracts: New Jam Sadiq Bridge, construction of Depot-I at Dawood Chowrangi, and construction of Depot-II at Indus Hospital — all part of the WB-funded Yellow Line project.
“The project suffered from gross mal-administration, blatant financial indiscipline, and both implicit and explicit losses to the government,” reads the FIR.
Referring to the record and statements, the FIR states that “there is no denying the fact that the project’s financial management is marred with severe indiscipline to the extent of criminal negligence in connivance with the contractors.”
The ACE alleged that the “assignment account facility has been grossly misused by Mr Abbasi and Mr Jhamandas,” which amounted to “corrupt practices, to say the least.”
It has been pointed out in official documents that hefty advance payments were made despite the fact that the contracts lacked any specific clause regarding “advance payment and financial assistance to the contractors.”
Officials said that instead of arranging project financing through the commercial market, the contractors managed to secure so-called financial assistance to the extent of Rs8.5 billion “without any bank guarantee.”
“This is a violation of public trust, financial indiscipline, and favouring contractors at the cost of government loss,” the FIR said, quoting findings of the inquiry committee.
“The accused persons, in connivance with each other, committed criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, preparation of false record, abuse of official position, blatant financial indiscipline, and both implicit and explicit losses to the government, causing wrongful loss to the public exchequer and wrongful gain to themselves,” it added.
Officials said the role of other persons involved in the project is being determined by investigators.
The over 21-kilometer-long Yellow Line project was approved by the federal government in 2019 at an estimated cost of over Rs61 billion. However, its PC-1 was revised in 2025, increasing the project cost to over Rs173 billion. The project was supposed to be completed in 2028.
Sources said that Abbasi, described as the key suspect in the multibillion-rupee fraud, did not appear before any inquiry. Multiple raids have been conducted on his DHA and Khairpur residences but to no avail. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the key suspect as early as possible.
Earlier this month, he had approached the Sindh High Court’s Sukkur Bench seeking protection against what he called “unlawful harassment and raids.” In the petition, he alleged that raids were conducted on his residences without search warrants, court orders, or prior legal authorization, and no notice or summons regarding any inquiry was ever served upon him prior to these actions
