KP govt 'tasks FIA' with probing into fake driving licence scandal

• Licences issued to overseas Pakistanis from KP to be probed.
• KP Transport Dept identifies flaw in DL system during probe.
• ACE ordered to probe scandal before FIA, provincial committee.

PESHAWAR: After the fake international driving licence scandal caused embarrassment for Pakistan following complaints from foreign countries, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government gave the go-ahead to carry out a high-level probe via the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and a provincial committee, sources told Geo News on Tuesday.

The scandal came to light after the Pakistani missions in foreign countries corresponded to verify driving licences issued to overseas Pakistanis from the KP Transport Department but their records were not found in the department’s database.

The Pakistan High Commission in Canberra, Australia, as well as the authorities in Hong Kong, had sent letters for verification of driving licenses that were issued to many overseas Pakistanis in the last couple of years even in their absence.

The embassy officials were surprised as to why such a large number of people from other provinces are being issued licenses from Peshawar, Nowshera and some other cities of KP and why they don’t get it from their respective districts.

“The KP chief secretary has given approval to carry out investigation [into the driving licence saga] by the FIA and a provincial committee,” the sources privy to the development said.

The committee would include officers from the home department, police, law, IT board, and other relevant departments.

The KP Transport Department had sent an initial report to the chief secretary regarding the fake international driving licences and sought a thorough probe.

In its report, the department admitted that fake licences were issued to overseas nationals in Hong Kong and Australia besides affirming the complaints from the said countries. It also identified several flaws in the system being used by the department for the issuance of driving licences.

It also sought the services of the IT board to remove flaws in the driving license software.

The issue has exposed massive irregularities during the issuance of international driving licences which led the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urge the provincial government to initiate a thorough scrutiny.

The KP government had earlier directed the Transport Department officials to probe the issue and recommend due punishments to all those officers, officials and private touts involved that have earned a bad name for the province.

However, it was criticised as to how the same department conducted an inquiry against its own officials.

Later, the task was given to the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) to investigate the scandal by scrutinising the issuance of medical certificates issued to the applicants while being abroad, The News reported.

The ACE was also ordered to scrutinise licenses issued to overseas Pakistanis in other countries as there could be many other countries where the employees of the department issue fake licenses through touts without following the required procedure.

In a separate development two days ago, the provincial government constituted a three-member committee to monitor corruption and governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The committee would investigate the allegations against ministers and administrative secretaries, adding that action would be taken against an official if allegations were established against him, KP Information Advisor Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif told Geo News.

Former KP governor Shah Farman, former advisor to prime minister on accountability Musaddiq Abbasi and former president of Supreme Court Bar Association Qazi Anwar will work as members of the body, he added.