An officer working at the Chinese Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has been arrested for passing sensitive information to a foreign intelligence agency. Further, departmental proceedings have begun against officers of the protocol department involved in illegal practices.
The development came to the fore when a Grade-18 officer was produced before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) with his application for a post-arrest bail. The plea was rejected by the court.
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As per the details, Syed Qalbe Abbas, a BS-18 official of the Ministry of Planning and Development, had been working as the Deputy Director of the China Division on deputation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for nearly three years.
In an FIR lodged against him by the Counter-Terrorism Wing, Abbas is accused of having frequent meetings with diplomats and officials of foreign intelligence agencies “to deliver secret information/documents prejudicial to the safety and interests of the state.”
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He is booked under Section 3 and 4 of the Official Secret Act and facing charges of leaking sensitive information. Sources privy to the matter said that he had been part of an organized network, spying for Russian intelligence. Abbas is currently being probed to identify other moles and how they got access to such information and official documents.
Earlier, a few officers of the protocol division were also shown the door for their involvement in illegal practices. They were accused of issuing a fake note verbale and import of liquor through unfair means.
