In major embarrassment for successive governments in Islamabad Pakistani diplomats posted abroad across countries have been found involved in crimes, scandals and misappropriation of privileges.
In one of latest incidents, Waqar Ahmad, a Pakistan Foreign Service Officer, First Secretary in Kiev, was removed from service on May 7 following charges of sexual harassment by a local Ukrainian employee.
He was charged with gross misconduct, “conduct unbecoming of an officer and gentleman and conduct prejudicial to good order and service discipline” according to a note issued by Pakistan Foreign Office.
Incidentally, the current Pakistan Permanent Representative at the UN, Munir Akram (known for his anti-Bharat rants), too has a domestic violence case against him in the US in which he was let off because of his diplomatic immunity. In his earlier stint in UN, Akram courted controversy after being accused (December 2002) of domestic violence by his live-in partner, according to informed sources.
Pakistani diplomats are well known for using host countries to target Bharat, particularly pushing fake Indian currency notes (FICN) and terrorists. Mohamed Mazhar Khan, Assistant Visa Officer at Pakistan High Commission, Bangladesh, was arrested in January 2015 by the Bangladeshi authorities for his role in the FICN syndicate, sources said, adding, he was allegedly in touch with banned terror group Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
Farina Arshad, Second Secretary at the Pakistan High Commission in Bangladesh was withdrawn in late 2015 after Idris Sheikh, an operative of outlawed Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), admitted to having links with her, sources alleged.
Amir Zubair Siddiqui, Counsellor (Visa) at the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka from 2009 to 2016, was charged with conspiracy to attack nuclear installations, defence establishments, the U.S. Consulate in Chennai, the Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru and other Indian ports, sources recalled.
Earlier one Mohammed Arshad Cheema, First Secretary, Pakistan Embassy in Nepal, was arrested on April 2001 by Kathmandu police with 16 kg of RDX, sources alleged. He is also believed to have been linked with the December 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight IC 814.
Between May 2018 to 2019, the US had imposed travel restrictions on Pak diplomats curtailing their movement beyond 25-miles radius around Washington D.C. without prior approval.
(This article was first published on the economictimes.indiatimes.com on May 21, 2020 and is being reproduced, after minor edits to conform to HinduPost style-guide)
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