By Linda Kwanjana
Blantyre-based businessman Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry has dismissed online media reports alleging he misrepresented his diplomatic status.
Chaudhry, who shared photographs and documents to support his claim, insisted he legitimately served for three years as Deputy Consul of Pakistan in Malawi.
He described the allegations as malicious fabrications by business rivals seeking to tarnish his image and push him out of business.
“I was a legitimate Deputy Consular for three years. In 2018, the then Ambassador of Pakistan to Malawi, His Excellency Riaz Bukhari, visited Malawi from Harare and met His Excellency President Peter Mutharika at Sanjika Palace. I was privileged to attend that meeting, where His Excellency Bukhari introduced me to the President as Deputy Consular. The Honorary Consul of Pakistan in Malawi at the time, Mr. Raja Ilyas Khan Satt, was also introduced,” Chaudhry said.
Chaudhry, who is now a citizen of Malawi, added that the Pakistan consulate office was inaugurated at his residence in Mount Pleasant, Blantyre.
After his three-year appointment ended, he said he duly returned all official identification cards and CC registration plates to the Malawi Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Chaudhry described the accusations against him as “utterly unfair and unjustifiable,” claiming he was aware of individuals circulating the falsehoods.
Reports have suggested Chaudhry lied about his diplomatic status, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledging in a communication that he had been issued identity cards.
In a 2022 letter to Ritz Attorneys-at-Law, then Secretary for Foreign Affairs Joel Immanuel Matonga confirmed the ministry issued Chaudhry an identity card to facilitate processes toward establishing an honorary consulate in Blantyre.
