PESHAWAR: The Anti-Corruption Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has taken a major step in the fake international driving licence scandal by arresting Mujahid Khan, the Assistant Director of IT at the Directorate of Transport.
According to officials from Anti-Corruption KP, the arrest was made after securing approval from the Chief Secretary. The officer is currently under investigation, and the scope of the inquiry has been widened. Officials added that Murad Khan, a Grade-16 computer operator, had already been taken into custody in connection with the case.
As per the FIR registered by the department, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government received complaints — through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — about 89 fake international driving licences originating from Hong Kong, along with several similar cases from Australia. Following an initial inquiry, the department arrested two suspects — the IT assistant director and the computer operator — for their alleged involvement. Investigations are ongoing to determine the role of other officials and staff.
Last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad sent a letter to the Chief Secretary of KP, stating that Pakistan’s High Commission in Australia and the Anti-Corruption Agency in Hong Kong had forwarded formal complaints regarding fake international driving licences issued to Pakistani nationals living in both regions.
In response, the Chief Secretary had formed a two-member high-level inquiry committee. However, more than a year later, the committee’s report has yet to be made public.
It is worth noting that Anti-Corruption KP had also launched its own probe into the matter last year and has so far made two arrests in this international-level case. It has also emerged that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is actively involved in the investigation.
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