Zimbabwe deports Pakistani diplomat for flouting illegal trafficking rules: Sources
Jul 07, 2020
Harare [Zimbabwe], July 07 : Zimbabwe has deported a Pakistani diplomat for flouting multiple local and international laws related to illegal trafficking, sources said.
According to the sources, diplomat Waqas Ahmad, employed in Pakistan embassy in Harare, was intercepted last year for helping three Pakistani nationals to illegally enter into South Africa through Beitbridge.
"Zimbabwe Foreign Ministry of Zimbabwe has issued a diplomatic note to the Embassy of Pakistan in Zimbabwe raising concerns over an issue related to a diplomat named Waqas Ahmad," the source said.
Zimbabwe's Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a report from the Department of Immigration of Zimbabwe stating that Waqas Ahmad was intercepted by the authorities on October 30 2019 while attempting to help three Pakistani nationals (01 male and 02 female) in illegally entering into South Africa through Beitbridge.
"The diplomat in his act was found in contravention of multiple local and international laws crucial amongst them related to illegal trafficking. Thus, the MoFA Zimbabwe has asked Paksitan to immediately deport the concerned individual," the sources said.
The matter came to light following the arrest of three Pakistanis -- one male and two females -- in Beitbridge in October-November 2019. They revealed the link to the embassy staffer during questioning. It was reported that a Pakistani-origin guy tipped off the authorities about the racket run by Ahmed.
Mian Sohail Qaiser, a Businessman settled in Zimbabwe had accused Harare-based Pak embassy staffers of running a human trafficking racket to smuggle nationals into South Africa, according to a report in Zimbabwe's The Standard newspaper.
The arrest sparked the tension between Harare and Islamabad, said a newspaper 'The Standard report'.
The embassy of Pakistan in Harare has described it as a "delicate and complex situation" and is incensed that Harare is not doing enough to address its concerns."The delay in disposal of the matter is degenerating [sic]," the Pakistani embassy wrote to Zimbabwe's director general in charge of legal and consular affairs in the Foreign Affairs Ministry and accused immigration officials of "misbehaving" by calling Pakistani travellers "criminals" on December 19, 2019.
