Pakistan’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered fresh investigations into alleged financial embezzlement at Pakistani embassies in Austria and Bulgaria, involving a combined Rs. 194.6 million.
During a meeting chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar on Wednesday, audit officials told the committee that an accountant at Pakistan’s Embassy in Austria had allegedly stolen Rs. 165.6 million by transferring the money into personal bank accounts belonging to himself and his wife.
Two FIRs have been registered in the case, but the PAC chairman criticised the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for making little progress despite six years having passed. FIA officials said the accused had been arrested but later released on bail.
The Foreign Secretary said the employee had been dismissed and legal proceedings had started. The PAC directed the Foreign Office to conduct another investigation and submit its findings within one month. The FIA director general has also been summoned to explain the case’s progress.
The committee was also informed that an accountant at Pakistan’s Embassy in Bulgaria had allegedly misappropriated Rs. 29 million. An inquiry was formed in September 2026 but had not travelled abroad because of austerity restrictions. The PAC recommended allowing officials to travel when necessary for investigations.
The committee also questioned the handling of funds allocated for Pakistani students abroad. Audit officials said the embassy in Berlin had withdrawn more than 360,000 euros from education funds without replenishing the amount. The PAC directed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to recover the money within three months.
Separately, Pakistan’s Embassy in the United States was holding more than Rs. 1.22 billion in HEC funds that had not been distributed to students. The matter was referred for further examination.
The PAC also reviewed Rs. 17.2 million spent by a Pakistani community school in Abu Dhabi, questioned unauthorised bank accounts at the mission in Dhaka and rental income deposited into an unauthorised account in Vienna.
The committee directed the relevant departments to investigate the irregularities and improve financial controls at Pakistani diplomatic missions.
