Computers on Paper, Missing on the Ground: Serious Questions Over Sports Directorate’s Asset Records

 

Musarrat Ullah Jan , KikxNow , Digital Creator

Peshawar: Serious questions have emerged over the asset records of the Directorate General of Sports, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after two official responses issued under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed discrepancies in the number, cost and reported status of government computers.

The issue becomes more significant because the computers listed in official records could not be physically verified at the stated locations.

According to an RTI response issued by the Directorate General of Sports on October 25, 2022, the department purchased 10 Dell desktop computers during 2018-19 under ADP Scheme No. 1118/170048.

The same document, bearing letter No. 17.RTI.2022-23/1316-17, lists the price of each computer as Rs. 158,240, including taxes.

That puts the reported cost of the 10 computers at approximately Rs. 1.58 million.

The document also identifies M/s Pak Khyber Traders as the supplier.

Then where did the computers go?

A second RTI response issued on July 6, 2026, under letter No. 17/RTI/1245, gives a different picture.

The Directorate stated that there are only seven desktop computers across its offices.

This immediately raises a basic accountability question:

If 10 Dell computers were purchased in 2018-19, where are the other three?

If the remaining three computers were damaged or declared obsolete, where are the condemnation and disposal records?

If they were transferred to another office or government department, where are the transfer and handover documents?

And if the seven computers reported in 2026 are still government assets, can the Directorate physically produce and identify them?

Physical verification raises another question

The issue does not end with the difference between 10 and seven.

Musarrat Ullah Jan , KikxNow , Digital Creator

During physical verification, the desktop computers claimed in the official records could not be fully verified at the locations where they were reportedly assigned.

At the Sports Hostel, for example, the official response indicated the presence of a desktop computer. However, physical verification found no such desktop computer at the location.

Similar questions emerged regarding computers reportedly allocated to other offices, including the Accounts section.

In some cases, staff were found using laptops rather than the desktop computers reflected in the official records.

This creates a potentially serious asset-management and stock-verification issue.

The question is not simply whether a computer was purchased eight years ago. The question is whether the government can establish a continuous documentary trail showing where that asset is today.

CCTV explanation does not resolve the computer issue

The July 2026 RTI response also contains information about CCTV equipment at the Peshawar Sports Complex.

According to the response, 61 CCTV cameras were installed at a reported cost of approximately Rs. 3.0 million, with a further Rs. 110,000 spent on repairs.

An explanation was also given that certain laptops were being used for the CCTV system.

But a laptop being used to operate a CCTV system does not by itself explain the whereabouts of the 10 Dell desktop computers reportedly purchased in 2018-19.

These are separate assets and should have separate procurement, stock and asset records.

The documents that can settle the matter

The Directorate General of Sports should be able to produce the complete documentary trail for the 10 computers, including:

·         Purchase order

·         Invoice

·         Payment voucher

·         Delivery challan

·         Stock register entry

·         Asset register entry

·         Computer serial numbers

·         Asset numbers

·         Current location of each computer

·         Name/designation of the current custodian

·         Transfer or handover records

·         Repair records

·         Condemnation or disposal records, if applicable

Without these documents, the public cannot independently establish what happened to the assets purchased with government funds.

Ten purchased, seven reported, none physically verified

The available record therefore presents a straightforward sequence of questions:

10 Dell computers were reportedly purchased in 2018-19.

The 2026 RTI response reports seven desktop computers.

Physical verification could not establish the presence of the claimed computers at the stated locations.

This does not, at this stage, prove that the computers were stolen or that public money was embezzled.

That conclusion would require further documentary and physical evidence.

But it does establish a legitimate public-interest question over the accuracy of the Directorate's asset records and the physical existence and custody of government-purchased equipment.

The most important question now is simple:

Where are the 10 computers purchased in 2018-19, and can the Directorate General of Sports physically identify each one through its serial number and asset register?

If the department can produce the purchase documents, asset register, serial numbers and physical location of each computer, the discrepancy can be explained.

If it cannot, the issue moves beyond an ordinary RTI discrepancy and becomes a matter requiring formal asset verification and audit scrutiny.

The Directorate General of Sports and the relevant authorities should therefore provide a clear, documented response on the whereabouts and current status of these government assets.

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