ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Ishaq Dar, on Monday ordered an investigation into what he called the "illegal and unwarranted leakage" of tax information of the family members of Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Dar was referring to a report by Fact Focus, an independent investigative journalism website, which last week published wealth and tax details of members of General Bajwa’s immediate and extended family, saying they had become "billionaires over the last six months" by establishing international businesses, shifting capital abroad, and buying foreign properties.
The report, citing the family’s tax and wealth statements, said the current market value of known assets and businesses owned by the family within Pakistan and abroad during the last six years amounted to “more than Rs12.7 billion.”
"This is clearly violative of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the Law provides," the finance division said in a statement attributed to Dar, saying he had taken "serious notice" of the leak.
"The finance minister has directed the SAPM [special assistant to the prime minister] on Revenue Mr. Tariq Mehmood Pasha to personally lead an immediate investigation into the violation of tax law and breach of FBR data, affix responsibility and submit a report within twenty four hours."
(1/3).Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar has taken serious notice of the illegal and unwarranted leakage of tax information of the family members of General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
Fact Focus, which has previously published investigative reports on the “misappropriation of funds” by prominent Pakistani politicians and generals, released its recent report at a crucial time when General Bajwa, who has been the country’s army chief since 2016, is due to retire on November 29, following the final day of his second three-year term.
The army chief is arguably the most powerful man in the country. The military has for decades ruled Pakistan either through coups or as the invisible guiding hand in politics.
In 2020, a retired general who at the time chaired the government body overseeing billions of dollars of investment from China, faced scrutiny over his family's finances after an investigative report in Fact Focus claimed they had acquired a vast empire as he rose through the ranks. Gen Asim Bajwa, who is not related to the current army chief, denied the allegations.
The military defence spending appears each year as a single-line figure in the annual budget and is not open to public scrutiny like the budgets of other government departments.
ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party called off its protest in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Saturday after police fired tear gas during the day to disperse hundreds of supporters and cut off the power supply at the demonstration site in the evening.
Security was intensified, with shipping containers placed at the entry and exit points of Rawalpindi to prevent PTI sympathizers from entering the city. The party seeks to build public pressure on the government for the ex-premier’s release, who has been in jail for over a year and has faced charges ranging from treason to corruption.
PTI is also protesting the government’s proposed constitutional amendments, which it claims are designed to suppress judicial independence, an allegation the government denies.
Video clips on social media showed police firing tear gas at supporters to prevent them from reaching Rawalpindi. Later, authorities cut power to the protest area to halt the possibility of a major demonstration.
“The protest has been called off due to the injuries and the violence that has been done by the Punjab police,” Zulfi Bukhari, a former federal minister and close aide of Khan, said while expressing gratitude to the protesters.
Referring to the protests that broke out on May 9, 2023, after the former premier’s brief arrest in a graft case in which people holding PTI flags vandalized government buildings and military properties, he maintained the party did not want its workers blamed again for any violence or destruction of public property.
Bukhari claimed the police used rubber bullets on peaceful protesters.
“We understand the scheming that is going on and we understand what’s going to be tried to do against us,” he added.
Speaking to Arab News, Inspector Sajjad-ul-Hassan, spokesperson of the Rawalpindi police, justified the used of tear gas to “disperse violent protesters.”
“They were pelting stones on the cops deployed in the city,” he said.
Asked if the law enforcement personnel also used rubber bullets, he denied in the negative.
A policeman fires teargas shell toward supporters of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, during a protest demanding his release in Rawalpindi on September 28, 2024. (AFP)
“This is just a propaganda against the police,” he added.
Authorities had blocked all major entry and exit points of the city ahead of the protest, making it difficult for people to commute. A day earlier, the Punjab Home Department issued a notification imposing Section 144, a legal provision that bans gatherings of four or more people.
Apart from Rawalpindi, the ban was also enforced in the nearby cities of Jhelum, Chakwal and Attock.
‘SECTION 804’
Earlier, the top PTI leaders vowed to continue with their protest despite the government’s attempts to defeat their plan.
“God willing, you will see what will happen today,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who belongs to Khan’s party, told reporters from inside his car, leading a convoy of hundreds of charged up supporters toward Rawalpindi, earlier in the day.
“Section 804 has been imposed across Pakistan,” he shouted, referring to the prisoner identification number assigned to Khan when he was first arrested in August last year.
PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai uploaded a video on social media in which a thick cloud of smoke is visible in the background.
“You can see that they have started shelling at Attock,” Yousafzai said. “They are shelling unarmed citizens. But God willing, they will not be able to stop us.”
Addressing the situation in a media talk, Senator Talal Chaudhry of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party said protest was everyone’s right, but “we will not allow violence and disruption in the name of protest.”
He also questioned the rationale behind the protest at a time when the country’s macroeconomic indicators are looking up.
“Is this protest taking place because inflation has come down in Pakistan from 37 percent to 9 percent,” he asked. “Is this protest taking place because Pakistan’s stock exchange has reached from 40,000 to 80,000 points?”
He wondered why did “armed people from other provinces” come to Punjab to protest.
Supporters of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, attempt to throw back teargas shells fired by riot policemen as they protest demanding Khan’s release in Rawalpindi on September 28, 2024. (AFP)
“This is not a protest but an attempt to generate violence,” he added. “They want to create such circumstances where people once again talk about default in Pakistan. Once again, the poor have nothing to eat [and] Pakistan moves toward chaos again. We won’t let such attempts by these people succeed.”
Prior to that, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari addressed a news conference in Lahore, warning protesters of stern action if they took law into their own hands.
“Section 144 has been imposed in Rawalpindi and Rangers have been deployed also,” Bokhari warned. “And today if anyone tries to interfere in peace and security, if anyone tries to take the law into their hands, tries to block streets or public squares, then the law will deal with them with an iron fist.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif attended the Quadrilateral Group meeting of Pakistan, China, Iran and Russia to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, with participants expressing concern over the emerging threat of militancy from the post-war country, said an official statement on Saturday.
The group was formed after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 to coordinate efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and address security, migration and economic challenges in the region. Its key focus is promoting regional peace, stability and connectivity by involving Afghanistan.
Last year, the Quadrilateral Group held a meeting in Uzbekistan, while the latest gathering of the four countries took place on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly session in New York.
“The participants of the meeting expressed concern over the security challenges emanating from the territory of Afghanistan, particularly the terrorism threat and called on the Afghan interim government to fight terrorism and eliminate all terrorist groups and prevent Afghan territory from being used against its neighbors, the region and beyond,” the statement said.
“The meeting also emphasized the importance of engagement with Afghanistan and to continue close coordination between the four countries to strengthen regional efforts for the normalization of situation in Afghanistan and addressing its various challenges in a comprehensive manner,” it added.
Among the four regional states, Pakistan has voiced the most concern over the rise in militant violence, which it attributes to armed factions reportedly operating from Afghanistan.
Last year, officials in Islamabad accused the administration in Kabul of “facilitating” armed groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), before initiating a deportation drive against Afghan immigrants, leading to the expulsion of over 700,000 individuals.
Afghan authorities deny any involvement in Pakistan’s security issues and have opposed Pakistan’s decision to expel its citizens.
The TTP has also targeted Chinese nationals working on energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
In March this year, Russia reported a major militant attack near Moscow, in which operatives associated with Daesh’s Khorasan chapter, based in Afghanistan, killed 145 people and injured over 550.
Iran has similarly raised concerns about security and diplomatic challenges under the Afghan Taliban administration in the past.
There have been broader concerns about Afghanistan becoming a hub for transnational militancy, with recent UN reports underscoring the issue.
PESHAWAR: A charter helicopter belonging to Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) crashed in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday after developing a technical fault, killing six people, including two foreigners, and injuring eight other crew members, police said.
Mari Petroleum is a leading Pakistani oil and gas company, primarily involved in the exploration, development and sale of hydrocarbons. The company’s principal activities include oil and gas drilling, along with providing energy solutions to the local market.
Rohanzeb Khan, a senior police official, said the crash took place in Pakistan’s restive North Waziristan that shares a border with Afghanistan and has experienced significant security challenges.
“The helicopter crashed near the Shawa Oil Field, a remote hilly area in the North Waziristan tribal district,” he told Arab News over the phone while confirming the death toll. “Initial information suggests the cause of the crash was a technical fault and no evidence of sabotage was found.”
“There were two to three foreigners onboard the helicopter but their identity is yet to be confirmed,” he added.
According to a statement released by the petroleum company, the helicopter was flown by three Russian pilots and carrying 11 passengers when the crash took place due to engine failure.
According to the Associated Press, two of the pilots have also lost their lives.
“The helicopter’s tail rotor hit the ground while making an emergency landing,” the police official said while sharing details of the crash.
However, he said further investigations were underway to ascertain the facts related to the incident.
Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where North Waziristan is located, expressed grief over the loss of “six precious human lives” in the crash, directing the district administration to ensure prompt medical treatment to those wounded in the mishap.
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated its appreciation for Pakistan’s policies that restored economic stability over the past year in its latest statement on Friday, while emphasizing the need to increase revenue by broadening the tax net.
The IMF approved a 37-month, $7 billion loan program for Pakistan this week, recognizing the government’s commitment to implementing the stringent economic reforms it had recommended.
The government has already announced plans to improve its tax-to-GDP ratio and is reforming the revenue generation system by incorporating more integrated, automated technology to enhance efficiency and compliance.
“The implementation of sound policies over the past year has been critical to restore economic stability, reduce near-term risks and rebuild confidence,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said while highlighting continued structural challenges that require government’s attention.
He emphasized continued fiscal consolidation in the ongoing financial year and beyond through enhanced revenue mobilization.
“Increasing revenue mobilization by broadening the tax base, removing special sectoral regimes, and placing a fairer burden on previously undertaxed sectors (including industrialists, developers, and large-scale agriculture), will enhance fairness and efficiency and create needed space for essential investments in human capital, infrastructure, and social spending,” he added.
The IMF statement also highlighted “insufficient” spending on health and education, saying it had made it difficult to address “persistent poverty” in the country.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said this week the government wanted to eliminate the “non-filer” category by taking punitive actions against those who previously paid nominal amounts on various transactions to avoid filing tax returns.
He pointed out that measures were being taken to improve tax compliance and enforcement, which had previously remained weak.
The minister also said the government aimed to widen the tax net by incorporating the agriculture, retail and wholesale sectors, saying its “hand has been forced.”
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized the “common desire” of Pakistan and the United States to enhance collaboration in trade, investment and other areas on Saturday after a brief meeting with President Joe Biden in New York.
Sharif was in the US to attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly Session, where he spoke about the war in Gaza, India’s ‘occupation’ of Kashmir, Pakistan’s fight against militancy and its struggle to shore up its economy, among other issues.
He also held several bilateral meetings and attended a dinner hosted last night by the US president in honor of the heads of state attending the UNGA session.
“My brief meeting with US President Joe Biden @POTUS and First Lady Jill Biden during the President’s reception in New York was most warm and cordial,” he wrote in a social media post on X.
“We reaffirmed our common desire to enhance cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, technology, & climate action,” he added.
My brief meeting with US President Joe Biden @POTUS and First Lady Jill Biden during the President's reception in New York was most warm and cordial.
We reaffirmed our common desire to enhance cooperation in key areas including trade, investment, technology, & climate action. pic.twitter.com/zyAhvJB6iO
In recent years, Pakistan has focused on enhancing trade, investment and collaboration in areas like climate and technology, aiming to strengthen its global economic ties.
The US remains Pakistan’s largest trading partner, a cornerstone in these efforts. Despite fluctuating relations, Pakistan has continued to express its desire to broaden and deepen ties with Washington.
The two countries have also collaborated in the security field, with the Washington offering assistance to Islamabad in cou
