Some of the Pakistani politicians, including serving government officials, named in the recent report on properties of 17,000 Pakistanis in Dubai looked to downplay the development, saying there is “nothing new or illegal” in the news.
Netizens called it “Dubai leaks” as they were astonished to know that 23,000 properties owned by Pakistanis in the emirate city are worth more than $11 billion at a time when foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan are standing at just above $9 billion and the country is hoping a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after it completed a $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement last month.
However, some politicians named in the report downplayed and defended their ownership, claiming the properties are legal and declared.
Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi, who was critcised over his wife’s property in Dubai, said the property is “fully declared and listed in tax returns”.
“The property was sold a year ago, and a new property was purchased recently with the proceeds,” he added.
Sindh’s senior minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Sharjeel Inam Memon, in a post on X, said the properties mentioned were already declared to relevant tax authorities and the Election Commission of Pakistan.
“Every year, we submit these details in our wealth statement and asset declaration. Therefore, this is already public information, nothing new,” he wrote.
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PPP also issued an official statement regarding the mention of its Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his family in what they called “so called Dubai property leaks”.
“All the national and international assets of Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari have already been declared in the Election Commission of Pakistan and with the FBR,” Zulfikar Ali Bader, spokesman to the PPP chairman said.
Speaking about Sharif family’s name in the report, Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Asif said there is “nothing new in the report”.
“What happened to Panama Leaks, now it has become property leaks. Mian Nawaz Sharif who had nothing to do with Panama was targeted. Now what has been revealed in the property leaks? he asked. “Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz, Vavda, and many names that are coming up were there before and they were not denied either. Someone tell me what happened.”
Sher Afzal Khan Marwat was also named in the Dubai properties list. Like others, he also defended the ownership, saying he owns an apartment in Dubai that has been declared for the last six years.
Meanwhile, the party Sher Afzal claims to be associated with, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), heavily criticised “the select[ed] group of people ruling and looting the country and its resources”.
Mere mention in the data doesn’t prove any financial crime or tax fraud.
However, the issue in Pakistan raises eyebrows as capital flight is a problem for the ailing economy that has to rely on external debt to shore up its foreign exchange reserves.
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“A decimated economy, record high inflation, 40% of the population below poverty line, extreme economic insecurity and yet Pakistan ranks third in amassing dirty money property in Dubai,” PTI wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman demanded that all those public office holders having offshore properties be sacked because “their policies and measures are making Pakistan unconducive for investment”.
“First the Panama Leaks, then the Pandora Papers and now the Dubai Property Leaks, the stories of exponential increase and accumulation of wealth of Pakistani ruling elite seem to be now becoming a regular feature of international scandals,” he wrote on X.
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“Whether at least the members of ruling elite would like to tell the nation about the source of their income they used to buy the Dubai properties? What are the channels through which the money was transferred to UAE? Whether the properties were declared to regulatory bodies including FBR, SBP and ECP?” Naeem questioned.
Jamaat-e-Islami chief was of the view that if even the properties were properly declared and sent out through formal channels, the question still arises why would foreign investors would pay any heed to the pleas of Pakistani rulers when their own investments were out of the country, he maintained.
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