Qureshi has an impressive record

LONDON: Shah Mehmood Qureshi is probably the only Pakistani politician who refused to indulge in extravaganza and lavish treatment at the cost of poor Pakistani taxpayers’ during his official trips abroad.
During his three years in office as Foreign Minister, Qureshi visited or transited the UK around 20 odd times and gained fame as one of the few Pakistani high ranking officials - and the only known one - who strictly stuck to the official business of diplomacy and didn’t avail foreign trips to wreck havoc with the freebies offered at the cost of Pakistani poor, as has become the norm with officials and politicians from the secretary level to politicians of all levels and from all parties.
During his trips to London, he could use the VIP lounge at the Airport, both on arrival and departure, but when he learnt that the VIP lounge costs £440 per use he denied the facility to himself and preferred to use normal channel despite knowing the indignation that is caused to the passengers during body search and other security checks.
No other minister had this pain for the wastage of exchequer’s money. Diplomats and officials on business tours are obsessed with treating themselves and their loved ones at the VIP lounge but it is a blessing in disguise that the facility is not accorded to anyone below the ministerial rank. The only other official known for traveling in the economy and not hiring the VIP lounge or asking for protocol, in the name of so-called official business, is journalist-turned-presidency spokesperson, Farhatullah Babar.
The former foreign minister, who was shown the door by Pakistan People’s Party after he went against a move by the government to grant immunity to US official Raymond Davis over the murder of four Pakistani nationals, never made a fuss about the protocol in London and never threw tantrums at the embassy staff who accompanied him to the meetings, as has been talked about in private gatherings where High Commission’s officials make passing remarks on the high level visits.
“He (Qureshi) would be upset if he saw money being spent lavishly on anything around him. He would always emphasize that Pakistan’s state of affairs doesn’t allow the wrong spending of a rupee. We never saw him using the official protocol for anything personal. He brought freshness and honesty to the foreign office but alas he has been shunted out,” recalled a diplomat.
Qureshi’s son, who until recently studied at the Oxford University, was under strict instructions to remain within his means and he never got to use any of the facilities sons and daughters of politicians and senior officials often use when in the UK - as their birth right.
Qureshi’s simplicity and professionalism is in stark contrast to other ministers officials who visit London apparently on official visits but take free rides at the cost of Pakistani taxpayers remains their prime obsession.
There should be some independent body in Pakistan that should collect information about the ministerial visits to the UK and call to account the expenditure on each visit including the resources used such as VIP lounge, official engagements, use of cars, time spent by the High Commission’s officials to attend them, and so on. Accountability is the hallmark of democracy and if this can’t be done then how different is it from dictatorship?