A Pakistani official was caught on camera stealing the wallet of a Kuwaiti delegate on Friday. The incident occurred when a delegation from Kuwait was on a two-day visit to Pakistan for a Joint Ministerial Commission meet.
The head of the Kuwaiti delegation had complained to the organisers that his wallet was missing during a session of the Economic Affairs Division. When the CCTV footage from the from the venue was reviewed, it was found that the Kuwaiti bureaucrat had left the wallet on a table and it was picked up by a Grade 20 Pak official.
The video, posted on Twitter by Pak journalist Omar R Quraishi, has gone viral with more than 1,100 retweets and 1,700 likes.
Grade 20 GoP officer stealing a Kuwaiti official's wallet – the official was part of a visiting delegation which had come to meet the PM pic.twitter.com/axODYL3SaZ
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) September 28, 2018
The official was identified as Zardar Haider Khan, Joint Secretary of Investment and Facilitation. According to reports, he is the 13th common DMG officer in the Islamabad Secretariat.
“All officers of the Ministry of Industries and Economics Affairs Division, as well as other participants, were shocked when the head of the Kuwaiti mission complained about the incident,” said a Pak Finance Ministry official.
“This is a very unfortunate development that has brought a bad name to the country as well as the officers working here,” he added.
The wallet was recovered from the officer and was returned to the Kuwaiti delegate with a formal apology from the Pak government. As per reports, the official was arrested and criminal proceedings have begun against him.
(With agencies inputs)
