Pakistan: FO, foreign missions involved in billions of rupees corruption: report

By Sardar Sikander Shaheen

Audit report cites serious misappropriation of funds, embezzlements, unauthorised expenditures, excess payments, illegal award of contracts and other malpractices

The Foreign Office and its diplomatic missions working abroad have been found involved in serious misappropriation of funds amounting to billions of rupees, including corruption, unauthorised expenditures, excess payments, illegal award of contracts, financial embezzlements and other malpractices, an audit report reveals.

The recently released audit report on the accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs/ Foreign Office prepared by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) reveals that Pakistan’s Embassy in Bahrain awarded an illegal and unauthorised contract valuing Rs 240 million for the construction of a chancery in violation of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules. The contract was awarded to Yathreb Contracting Company without advertising in any national daily – a mandatory requirement under PPRA rules.

The audit observed that the bidding process was conducted in a highly dubious and questionable manner and a single bidder was awarded the contract without even fulfilling the basic PPRA requirements. “Audit requires a detailed inquiry as to why PPRA rules were not applied and a single bidder was awarded contract,” the audit report reads. In another instance, more than Rs 82 million were spent by the Pakistani missions in Baghdad, Hong Kong and Sydney as rent for the buildings that were vacant and not in the use of the diplomatic missions concerned. The data shared by the audit suggests that from 2006-12 Pakistan’s Embassy in Baghdad paid Rs 78 million for the building that was vacant. Pakistan’s High Commission in Sydney paid Rs 33 million as rent for the building that was not in use from 2009-12, whereas Pakistani mission in Hong Kong paid Rs 724,185 as rent for the building it had long vacated. According to the AGP report, the FO informed the audit that the matter was being inquired into and the outcome will be reported to the AGP, but no progress was reported in this regard.

The audit also reveals that national exchequer suffered a mega loss of Rs 491.08 million on account of delay on part of MOFA headquarters in completing a High Security Block at the HQ’s premises. The contract for the construction of the High Security Block was awarded to Recent Construction in 2005 at an estimated original cost of Rs 234 million, but it was escalated to Rs 725.502 million in a questionable manner. The project was required to be completed by December 2006, but its due date was extended to June 30, 2013. The AGP has asked the FO to explain its position to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) regarding the alleged irregularities committed by the FO administration, but no progress has been made in this regard.

In yet another instance, the audit noted that six Pakistani diplomatic foreign missions were found having spent Rs 262 million in the form of unauthorised cash payments to different payees instead of cross-cheques, a mandatory requirement under the rules. These missions are Yangon (Rs 172 million), New Delhi (Rs 25 million), Belgrade (Rs 26 million), Colombo (Rs 15 million), Kathmandu (Rs 17 million) and Maldives (Rs 5 million). In a major case of funds misappropriation, an ex-ambassador received a sum of $5,000 or Rs 527,750 from a Pakistani school run by Pakistan’s Embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, as a loan on refundable basis, but later the said officer, in misuse of his capacity as chairman of the said school, waived off the loan. “Thus misappropriation of government money cannot be ruled out,” the audit report reads. The MOFA headquarters is said to have unduly paid Rs 407,533 as airfare for the members of Pakistan Foreign Office Women Association (PFOWA’s) visit to China. Presently, PFOWA is headed by Najia Aizaz, the wife of Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry.

Pakistan’s High Commission in London paid Rs 37,439,938 to Hayat Regency as accommodation charges for the members of presidential and prime ministerial delegations from 2011 to 2012 without provision of hotel invoices or detailed bills to the audit authorities, the AGP report reveals. Moreover, the deputy chief of protocol (DCP) Lahore spent Rs 2.7 million on the repair of vehicles in violation of PPRA rules, according to the report.