Ministry criticised for fund embezzlement in missions
By Sher Baz Khan
ISLAMABAD, Oct 16: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Monday criticised the Foreign Affairs Ministry for failing to check the embezzlement of counsellor fee by officials of Pakistani missions in Paris, Birmingham, Manchester and Madrid.
Presided over by ruling PML MNA, Malik Allah Yar Khan, at the parliament house the committee was briefed on the embezzlement of counsellor fee by officials of the Pakistani mission in Paris.
Foreign Affairs Ministry’s special secretary Sher Afgan said that a ring of corrupt officers of Pakistani mission in Paris headed by Third Secretary Ifroz Aalam Qazi, had been found involved in the embezzlement of Rs1.98 million.
Mr Qazi was abetted by counsellor assistants Tasneem Zubair, Ali Naseem and a local employee of the embassy.
Ali Naseem, Ifroze Aalam Qazi and Tasneem Zubair had been dismissed from services. Their cases had been referred to the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency, but both the institutions refused to accept the cases due to jurisdiction related problems.
Mr Afghan said Ali Naseem fled immediately after realising that their crime had been detected. He was dismissed from the service. Afroz Alam Qazi and Tasneem Zubair were also dismissed from their services on Dec 22, 2004 and October 20, 2003, respectively.
Mr Qazi had challenged his dismissal orders in the federal services tribunal and its next hearing was scheduled to be held on Nov 3, 2006. His dues have been withheld by the ministry.
Ms Tasneem had challenged the ministry’s decision in the federal services tribunal in November 2003. The court had since decided the case in favour of the official by setting aside the recovery.
The ministry was wasting the precious time of the committee and tax-payers’ money by attending the meeting without preparation and failing to properly answer the questions of the honourable members, MMA leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said, while criticising the ministry for providing a safe passage to its employees involved in embezzlement and earning a bad name for the country.
A number of members said that the Pakistani missions abroad had failed to perform their duties and were rather involved in unnecessary activities or corruption and embezzlement.
Mr Ahmed alleged that neither the ministry had recovered the embezzled money nor had it initiated the procedure for filing a case in the court. The ministry was unable to reject his allegations.
PML-N MNA Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said officers involved in such cases should not be posted abroad. He said that he personally knew two ambassadors who were involved in corruption but the foreign office had posted them abroad. “If I tell the names of these ambassadors, it will be embarrassing for you,” he told the special secretary.
PPP MNA Chaudhry Qamaruzzaman Kaira observed that it was also a form of corruption when an employee of the foreign office took political asylum in another country or became its citizen.
Chaudhry Nisar said that the ministry should inform the PAC that as to why the NAB and FIA refused to take up the cases and what action the ministry had taken since then.
Mr Kaira said that overseas Pakistanis who sent remittances back home were badly treated by the Pakistani embassies. Thousands of Pakistanis were living in Barcelona, Spain, but there was no Pakistani consulate there.
The committee also observed that no government and semi-government department and autonomous body could decide their financial matters at their own as it was mandatory for them to seek permission from the finance ministry in such cases.
PTA: The committee took serious notice of payment of honorarium amounting to Rs2.154 million by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to its officers without obtaining sanction from the ministry of finance.
A committee comprising officers of audit, finance and law ministries was constituted to conduct a probe into the matter. The committee would submit the report within a month.
Cabinet Secretary Ejaz Rahim told the meeting that the PTA was an authority and it had its own rules and regulations. Its board of directors had accorded approval to payment of honorarium. However, the auditor-general did not agree to his point of view saying that the fiscal checks introduced by the ministry of finance were also applicable to the PTA.
