- PAC takes note of Khawaja Asif’s claims about bureaucrats.
- Ministry of Interior, establishment division aimed at sending the list.
- Junaid Akbar seeks Details of the plots acquired by bureaucrats.
Islamabad: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) realized on Tuesday of the Declaration of Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on the Pakistani bureaucrats who bought properties in Portugal and ordered the division of establishment and the Ministry of Interior that immediately present a list of all these officials, The news reported.
The Committee summoned officials of the Ministry of Interior, State Bank, the Federal Income Board (FBR) and other relevant institutions for information at the next meeting.
The committee, chaired by Junaid Akbar Khan, examined the audit objections of the Ministry of Religious Affairs for the Fiscal Years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Junaid ordered that the details of the plots acquired by the bureaucrats be obtained.
At first, Junaid said the Committee intended to place the problems of fiscal exemptions in the old Fata and Pata regions on the agenda of August 19. Expressing concern about the possible closure of public service stores, the Committee decided to find information on the subject at its next meeting.
The committee decided to call the relevant departments at the next meeting. The committee also decided to listen to the complaints of employees of Protestant public service stores.
When examining the audit for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, audit officials informed the Committee that a former account officer Muhammad Kaleem in Jeddah had embezzled RS12 million. The objections were also related to the same officer, who in 2019 dedicated the food positions of the attendees, but did not pay the contractor, and embezzlement funds of the Hajj welfare fund.
Three more audit paras pointed to Kaleem with the finger for supposedly embezzlement of RS44.25 million in total, while the same person also participated in the improper appropriation of RS21,141 million charges of food deduced from Moavineen, and embezzlement of RS3.456 million of the Pilgrim Welfare Fund. The embezzlement of total funds amounted to RS44,715 million.
The authorities informed the committee that the defendant had obtained a Canadian visa in advance and was currently in Canada.
Religious affairs of the secretary said the Ministry had fired the service official, written to the FIA for the registration of a FIR, and asked if Interpol had contacted.
The FIA officials said that both the man and his wife were proclaimed criminals, who now lived in the United States, without any record of their properties.
The Committee was informed that during the Audit of DG Hajj, Jeddah, for the FYS 2018-21, it was observed that a number of RS12 million (SRLS271,508.88) was sent by the Office of the Director of Accounts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad on August 24, 2021 in the regular account of the monthly reward for the month of June, 2021.
The remittances were accredited in the bank account of the General Directorate, held with Bank al Riyadh on August 28, 2021. However, said amount was not counted as a receipt in the cash account for the month of August 2021.
Rather, the amount was transferred by Muhammad Kaleem, AAO on August 29, 2021 to another bank account that does not have 163-12 862-9942 entitled Madina’s income account, maintained with the same bank and, therefore, the total amount was transferred to the personal bank account of Muhammad Kaleem, AAO.
In addition, the officer manipulated the bank extracts of the General Directorate to hide the embezzlement of funds.
The audit is of the opinion that a embezzlement of rupees of RS12 million in remittances resulted in a loss for government treasure. Junaid Akbar asked if an assistant counter was involved in such acts, what was the DG Hajj doing there.
Secretary of Religious Affairs Dr. Atta-Ur-Rehman told the Committee that the Ministry had requested the Ministry of Interior and Interpol to issue a red order for the accused. Senator Agnanullah Khan said that no red order had been issued or the properties seized in the matter.
DG Hajj in Makkah explained that at that time, there were three authorized signatories. One of them, the then director, had been transferred but his bank identification was not deactivated, which allows the transaction. He said the system had been tight since then.
The Ministry said the defendant now resides in Canada, and that recovery efforts are underway through their properties.
The committee directed that the details of the defendant’s properties will be obtained within a month. The president of the committee commented that a large -scale fraud could not have been committed by a single person and criticized the bad monitoring of the case.
The Committee ordered the secretary religious issues to inform the committee within a month about the progress made in the case and inform the relevant country of the defendant’s criminal record. The Committee also discussed issues related to Operation Hajj, since members sought a list of all employees of different degrees that were sent to Saudi Arabia to help pilgrims.
According to the secretary’s religious matters, 1,700 staff members deploy during the Hajj season, with a 20% share assigned to the police, while the rest of the positions are open.
Last year, 1,700 of 64,000 applicants were selected, including 350 degree of grade 18.
He said an assistant was assigned by every 100 pilgrims according to Saudi guidelines. The staff travels in service visas, which do not allow them to access Mina and Arafat.
Audit officials clarified that these staff were sent to help pilgrims and not perform Hayy.
The Committee requested data on how many judges, politicians and bureaucrats participated in the Hajj operation. The secretary said that all the accompanying personnel are employees of the Government from grade 7 to 18, and last year, 130 Personnel of the Armed Forces were also included.
Audit officials informed the committee on irregularities, revealing that RS49.8 million (SAR 907,000) paid in cash to a company for tents in mine and Arafat for 615 people without any receipt or registration. The bill also lacked DG Hajj firm. The DG explained that the terrestrial realities during the Hajj were different and suggested to exempt Hajj arrangements from the PPRA rules.
