Vawda alleges deadly threats from 3 FBR officials over vehicle procurement row

• Saleem Mandviwalla also reports receiving similar messages.
• Senator Naek demands officials who made threats be exposed.
• Vawda questions timing of intent letter coinciding with panel's letter.

Senator Faisal Vawda on Thursday claimed that three Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officers had threatened his life over objections to an “untransparent” proposal for a massive vehicle procurement by the country's tax authority.

Vawda is a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, which, on January 23, directed the FBR to halt its plan to purchase 1,010 vehicles for operational purposes at an estimated cost of Rs6 billion, citing concerns about transparency in the procurement process.

Echoing Vawda’s apprehensions, committee chairman Senator Saleem Mandviwalla also reported receiving similar threatening messages.

The allegations led to a heated debate in the committee meeting, with concerned members demanding a high-level inquiry into the threats.

Vawda insisted that the threats warranted criminal action — a demand which was strongly endorsed by Mandviwalla and other members.

Senator Farooq H Naek, another committee member, suggested referring the matter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). "The threat issue has surfaced in the committee," Naek said in the meeting, demanding it must be exposed.

Senator Vawda questioned the unusual timing of the procurement, pointing out that the committee sent a letter to the FBR on January 10, while a letter of intent was issued on the same day, which was a red flag.

“The contract was awarded to one company and a raid was conducted on another, raising doubts over the fairness of the process,” Vawda said.

Having reached a consensus in the January 23 meeting, the committee decided that it would write to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb to stop the purchase. No senior FBR official, including the chairman and board members, attended last week’s meeting, leaving only the chief administrator to defend the decision.

In that meeting, an FBR official claimed that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved the procurement months ago and that the process followed standard procedures, including market surveys and committee approvals.

During the meeting, Mandviwalla came down hard on the FBR’s justification for the procurement, doubting its internal performance assessment mechanisms and reward systems, while calling for more transparency in the process. 

“You claim there’s no such system, yet we see millions being allocated for awards,” he remarked.

The controversy surrounding the vehicle procurement and the alleged threats has now escalated into a broader issue, with lawmakers calling for accountability and transparency in the operations of FBR, which is struggling to meet the revenue collection targets for the fiscal year 2025.