Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Foreign Minister (FM) Ishaq Dar has ordered an inquiry into Pakistan’s apostille and document attestation system following reports of alleged irregularities in the process.
A three-member committee, headed by Petroleum Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, has been constituted to investigate the matter and submit its findings and recommendations within two weeks, according to a notification issued by the DPM’s Office on September 18.
Law Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar and Special Secretary Finance Qumar Sarwar Abbasi are the other members of the committee.
The committee will identify alleged abuse or irregularities in the apostille and attestation system, examine the role of courier services and determine whether Foreign Office officers were involved in the matter. It will also recommend systemic improvements to the process.
The Additional Secretary (Administration) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been directed to provide the committee with full support and access to relevant material.
The notification was issued after media reports concerning the Foreign Office’s apostille and document attestation system.
Senior journalist Azaz Syed, who reported on the matter through Geo News and his programme TalkShock, shared details of the order on X on Friday. He said that the inquiry followed the reports and questioned the circumstances surrounding the removal of the Director General , Ahmed Ali Sirohey.
Syed also questioned why former Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch had posted the officials named in the inquiry report.
The new inquiry follows an earlier internal investigation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs into alleged illegal payments collected from citizens seeking document attestation.
A four-member committee headed by Sirohey had investigated the matter and reported that around Rs12 billion was allegedly collected over one year through illegal channels. The report said that citizens were allegedly charged up to Rs800,000 for document attestation.
An official working in the Foreign Secretary’s Office was among those named in the report, along with directors general of different wings of the Foreign Ministry, a former additional secretary and former diplomats.
The earlier inquiry also examined the role of a private courier company. Officials cited in the report had alleged that the company had links with a Foreign Ministry official.
According to Syed, the inquiry report was sent to the Foreign Secretary’s Office in July but was not forwarded to the National Accountability Bureau or another investigative agency.
The report also said that some officials allegedly linked to the matter were later posted abroad despite the committee’s recommendations.
Sirohey was subsequently transferred and posted as an Officer on Special Duty with immediate effect and until further orders, according to the Foreign Office notification shared by Syed on Thursday.
