ISLAMABAD(National Times)- A parliamentary committee on Wednesday criticised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for having no control over funds management and lax accounting procedures, instructing its new secretary Asim Iftikhar Ahmad to streamline and tighten accounting procedures and make rules and share them with the committee.
The directive came after the Public Accounts Committee, while discussing audit objections of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2024-25, observed that its staff posted in foreign missions was embezzling and mismanaging public funds without accountability.
One case in particular caused massive losses to the public exchequer, when an ex-accountant posted in the Pakistan embassy in Vienna, Austria, fraudulently drew 442,256 euros and $134,292 over a period of two years.
Officials from the office of Auditor General of Pakistan suspected that the former accountant was not alone in tampering and transferring the public money into his personal and wife’s bank accounts and that senior officials in the Pakistani Mission were also involved in the scam.
PAC told staff posted in foreign missions ‘embezzling funds’
The PAC expressed strong dissatisfaction with Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for failing to recover the embezzled amount after a case was registered against the ex-accountant, Muhammad Sulaiman Qureshi, six years ago.
Members of the panel were more surprised upon learning that Muhammad Sulaiman Qureshi was in Pakistan and he has been out on bail.
The chairman of the committee, MNA Naveed Qamar, directed officials concerned to summon the FIA director general for a better response.
Similarly, another accountant, during posting in Pakistan embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, also fraudulently withdrew 56,499 Lev and $74,415 between 2018-23.
Audit officials expressed concern that the misappropriated public money had still not been recovered from the accountant. Furthermore, the accountant, after being dismissed from service, approached courts, which reinstated him in service.
In response to failure to recover the embezzled amount, the PAC chairman directed that officials investigating fraud should be exempted from travel bans introduced under austerity measures.
In another case pertaining to unjustified retention of heavy balance of Higher Education Commission (HEC) on account of overseas scholarship in the US, amounting to $4.5 million, the PAC expressed surprise why the funds had not been disbursed among needy students.
“The Pakistani mission did not have clear instructions from HEC on the matter,” said Asim Iftikhar Ahmad.
In response, Mr Qamar argued that HEC should be held accountable over this. Similarly, in another matter pertaining to unauthorised borrowing of loan from HEC’s account of 360,000 euros, Mr Ahmad said that his office was in process of returning funds to the commission.
In the case of unjustified blockage of government funds in an unauthorised suspense account in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a sum of $1.143m was parked idle. Audit officials observed that holding a huge amount in suspense account without approval of the finance division was a clear violation of rules, which required settlement of inevitable payment at the earliest.
They also observed that the Pakistani mission maintaining the US dollar account in the name of suspense account for payment of rent of chancery whose ownership issue was disputed, had not been resolved yet. The PAC referred the matter to departmental accounts committee.
