Foreign ministry told to tighten accounting rules as parliamentary body flags 'embezzlement' in overseas missions

A parliamentary committee in Pakistan has criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for lax accounting procedures and lack of control over fund management, especially in overseas missions. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for failing to recover the embezzled funds after a case was registered against an ex-accountant six years ago.

The ex-accountant, Muhammad Sulaiman Qureshi, was accused of fraudulently withdrawing 442,256 euros and $134,292 over a two-year period while posted in the Pakistan embassy in Vienna, Austria. Additionally, another accountant drew 56,499 Lev and $74,415 between 2018-23 while posted in the Pakistan embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria. The PAC also raised concerns about the misappropriated public funds not being recovered from the accountant, who was subsequently reinstated in service.

The committee directed officials to summon the FIA director general for a more effective response. The PAC further expressed surprise at the Pakistani mission's unclear instructions regarding funds for the Higher Education Commission's scholarship program in the US, amounting to $4.5 million, and the unauthorised borrowing of 360,000 euros from the HEC's account.

The Pakistani mission was also accused of holding $1.143m in an unauthorised suspense account in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which violated rules requiring settlement of payments at the earliest.