The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the Foreign Ministry to chalk out a strategy aimed at controlling surging embezzlement in Pakistani embassies and missions abroad. At a meeting here on Tuesday, the PAC observed misappropriation of consular fee that is accumulated from the issuance of passport to expatriate Pakistanis was on the rise.
There have of late been several reports in media suggesting Pakistani embassies are involved in an illicit business of issuance passports to non-entitled people for money. Presided over by MNA Malik Allah Yar Khan, the meeting directed the ministry not to hire local (of the host country) individuals in missions to avoid litigation in case of their involvement in corruption.
"You need to frame an overall strategy to streamline the administrative and financial working of embassies and mission," Allah Yar directed the ministry. His directive came before the chairman called it a day prematurely in protest against ministry officials' ill preparation like it happened a day earlier.
Almost all members railed against what they called a lackluster attitude of the ministry in controlling the corruption of its officials. "There is a laid back environment in the ministry...there is a need and room for a lot of improvement," a committee member MNA Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said.
In the meanwhile, there took place a verbal bout between the committee and a legal adviser of the ministry over the working of his department. The poor chap had to apologise to cool the fury of the members.
The issue of embassies and missions' poor performance and corruption came to the committee on Monday an auditor report revealed official at Paris embassy embezzled Rs1.982 million between 1997 and 2000. A Foreign Ministry official then informed the committee that three officials' namely third secretary Afroz Alam Qazi, consular assistant Tasneem Zubair and a local employee Ali Naseem were involved in the bungling.
Special Secretary Sher Afgan said Ali Naseem fled immediately after the scam was unearthed and was dismissed from the service. Afroz Alam and Tasneem Zubair were also dismissed from service on December 22, 2004 and October 20, 2003 respectively, the official told the meeting. The ministry also referred these cases to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the special secretary said.
But both the agencies, Sher Afgan added, refused to take up the cases, saying these cases did not fall within their jurisdiction. The officials further said Afroze Alam challenged his dismissal in the Federal Services Tribunal for which next hearing was scheduled for November 3, 2006.
The ministry had withheld his dues. Tasneem also challenged the ministry's decision in November 2003. The court has since decided the case in favour of the official setting aside the recovery.
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