ISLAMABAD: The opposition leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan on Wednesday demanded a thorough probe into properties worth around $11 billion owned by the country’s political, military, and business elite in Dubai.
Speaking at a presser, Ayub along with PTI chairman Gohar Ali Khan, said there was a need to properly investigate the matter whether those properties were declared with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) or not.
The demand from Ayub, who is also PTI secretary general, comes after “Dubai Unlocked”, an international investigative report on the owners of real estate in Dubai, comes after properties owned by Pakistani elite majority of them are pensioned military generals, were unearthed.
Several Pakistani politicians, former military servicemen, bureaucrats, and businessmen among others, have also been named in the investigations.
The combined value of Pakistanis on the list is estimated at around $11 billion.
These names include but are not limited to, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Senator Faisal Vawda, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Sohail Habib Tajik – some of whom have said that they possess declared properties in Dubai.
Ayub also demanded finding the source behind the transfer of funds to Dubai, saying “Were these funds sent with the State Bank of Pakistan’s permission and from which source”.
The jailed PTI founding chairman Imran Khan is the only politician who does not own any property abroad including Dubai, which prompted Ayub to say: “What Imran Khan says has been proven right”.
He questioned why Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi or those making tall claims about the country’s law and order situation are busy siphoning off money to Dubai when the country is facing serious economic challenges.
PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also demanded a probe into the hidden and laundered money, saying “the party will take this case to its logical conclusion.”
“The masses must be told why these politicians, generals and bureaucrats are busy in making investments outside of Pakistan,” he maintained.
Terming the ruling elite “Qabza mafia”, he said Pakistanis would not go abroad and invest there if their own country’s environment was peaceful and if there was rule of law.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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