PAC annoyed over financial irregularities in Foreign Ministry

ISLAMABAD: Special committee of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has taken strict notice of financial irregularities in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistani embassies in foreign countries and gave directions for taking action against those responsible beside improving monetary system of the Ministry.

Meeting of PAC special committee was held in the Parliament House with convenor Kunwar Khalid Younis in the chair on Monday.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Ali Khan, Safdar Shaker, Rai Munsab Ali Khan and high level authorities of Foreign Ministry attended the meeting.

The committee also expressed displeasure over Foreign Secretary Riaz Ahmed Khan’s absence in the meeting.

It noted that Secretary is the Principle Accounting Officer and PAC meeting will not be held if Foreign Secretary will not come to attend the meeting next time.

The meeting also criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its extra expenses than the fixed budget.

It said that Ministry of Foreign Affairs should cut down its non-developmental expenses.

The committee asked Foreign Ministry to improve its monetary system and create example for other ministries in this respect.

The meeting also criticized the performance and ways of Pakistani embassies in other countries.

Instead of addressing the problems of Pakistanis in foreign countries, they (embassies) tried to expel them adding, these embassies helped the visitors after seeing their ’class’, it maintained.

Foreign Office Additional Secretary said that embassies paid full attention towards Pakistanis problems abroad adding, but we face difficulty regarding those Pakistanis who come other countries through agents or human-trafficking.