Kazim Rizvi
The woman who holds a Canadian permanent residence had alleged that she was attacked by Shehzad Qayyum, acting System In charge of Machine Readable Passport (MRP) during the office hours in January 2012 when she had been visiting the Consulate to get a Pakistani Passport.
The alleged assailant, Shehzad Qayyum, who is Ministry of Interior’s employee had been working as Acting in charge of MRP unit in the absence of senior officer, Sajjad Bajwa, in the Consulate General Toronto. Due to the seriousness of the incident, the Pak Consulate Toronto first tried to save its employ by covering up the incident as it would create numerous complications for the diplomatic mission in Canada. However, on the pressure of the victim’s family and Pakistani community members, Mr Imran Ali, Acting Consul General, constituted an inquiry committee on Feb17, 2012 led by Counsellor Community Affairs Akbar Adil Shah and the senior most Nadra official in the Consulate, Ehsan Mirza.
The inquiry held Shahzad Qayyum responsible of the crime.
The inquiry report was finalised on 17 June, 2012 after gathering written statements of both the accused and the victim.
The victim’s three written statements on queries were received on 16 March, 28th May, and 17th June, 2012. In addition, the victim was also cross-examined on the telephone thrice.
The accused was also cross-examined and he also submitted his written response to the charges on April 5, 2012.
The inquiry committee has recommended that the accused must immediately be stopped from performing his duties and his entry into the consulate. The committee also recommended his immediate recall to Pakistan.
As per decisions of the Pakistani High Commission in Canada, the official has been stopped immediately from performing his duties in the Consulate and shall not be allowed to come to the Consulate because his presence would inflame the victim’s family who are then likely to go to Canadian authorities or the Pakistani community and print media. It has also been decided that his visa, which expires in July 2012, will not be extended.
The official will be advised to prepare himself for the first available flight to Pakistan. Upon arrival in Pakistan, he would be proceeded against by his department for removal of service on grounds of moral turpitude.
It has been learnt that Passport section has been closed since June 25th, 2012 which is causing difficulties for Pakistanis living in Canada where the MRP facility is only available in Toronto Consulate, thus making it one of the most important diplomatic missions in North America.
In this context, the Pakistani diplomatic mission in Toronto has also sent a request to DG Immigration and Passport and Interior Ministry to immediately appoint previous In-charge MRP, Sajjad Bajwa, so that the passport section can be reopened.
