Probe launched into money trail of Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials

GUJRAT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has launched an inquiry into Rs4m cash which its two daily-wage officials were keeping at their residence in Gujrat. The information about the amount surfaced when the amount was stolen from their residence.

The officials, Amir Shaukat and Irfan Ahmed, had lodged a case with Civil Lines Police Station, saying that unidentified thieves had stolen Rs4m cash from their shared residence they had rented at Jattuwakal on March 12.

According to an official letter by the MoFA, a copy available with Dawn, an explanation has been sought from both the officials who get the minimum wage about the source of their income and how they accumulated Rs4m cash they were hiding at their residence. The officials were directed to submit a written reply within three days until March 16.

Official sources said that the complainant in the case, Amir Shaukat, had been assigned the authority of an assistant protocol official, giving him the authority to sign and attest the documents of the citizens for the use in foreign countries. They added that MoFA deputy chief of protocol in Gujrat, heading the office, would attend mostly for two days a week and official tasks were being done by Amir Shaukat.

There had been complaints about the corrupt practices of MoFA staff in connivance with the agent mafia since long but no action was taken.

The sources said that MoFA authorities had been told that Amir had kept the cash for the wedding expenditures of a family member whereas Irfan was keeping the cash for treatment of his child.

Since Spanish authorities announced to open immigration to settle the illegal migrants from April 1, the citizens were compelled to pay heavy bribes for speedy delivery of attested documents (apostille) of their family members that increased the ratio of applicants during the last couple of months. Some applicants alleged that Rs21,000 per apostille and Rs3,000 to Rs5,000 per attestation of other documents were being charged through agents as bribe. The office is processing at least 400 to 500 apostille per day.

TikToker booked: The Gujranwala police have booked a female TikToker for allegedly kidnapping and sexually abusing a lady constable after administering her a tranquiliser.

A lady constable of the Gujranwala Police, a resident of the Muhammad Pura locality of Qila Deedar Singh town, lodged a complaint with the Qila Deedar Singh Police that when she was a student of a computer academy in 2012 another female student named S of Botala Jhanda Singh had befriended her.

She said that in 2024, S suddenly arrived at her house and informed her that she had become a TikToker and was now settled in the Barkat Pura locality of Qila Deedar Singh.

The complainant claimed that S invited her to her house where she was served a drink which was mixed with a tranquiliser. She claimed that she was also administered an injection after which she lost her senses and the TikToker recorded her obscene video.

She claimed the suspect repeated the same practice several times by blackmailing her by telling her that she would share her obscene video on social media if she did not comply. She claimed that the latest incident occurred on the evening of March 13 when the suspect kidnapped her and made her hostage at gunpoint. She also recorded a video of her sexual abuse after administering her a tranquiliser, she claimed. She said that she managed to flee her place and reached the police station.

Police registered a case against the suspect on her complainant and started investigations.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2026