Asim Bajwa rejects ‘malicious’ propaganda about family assets

ISLAMABAD: Lieutenant General (retired) Asim Saleem Bajwa, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) chairman and special assistant on Prime Minister Imran Khan on information, has turned down the allegations regarding assets held by him and his family members.

On a social media website, Twitter Asim Saleem Bajwa said: “A malicious propaganda news published on an unknown site, against me and my family, (just uploaded on social media) is strongly rebutted”.

A malicious propaganda story published on an unknown site, against me and my family, (just uploaded on social media)is strongly rebutted

— Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimSBajwa) August 27, 2020

The remarks from Saleem Bajwa come after journalist Ahmad Noorani’s news story about assets allegedly owned by the key Pakistani official, his wife, brother and other family members.

Following the story was published; “BajwaLeaks” has become a top trend with mixed responses from social media users.

In the story, Noorani claimed that Asim Bajwa’s brothers, wife and children own “99 companies in four countries, more than 130 active franchise restaurants, and 13 commercial properties, including two shopping malls in the United States.”

“Out of total 99 companies, 66 are main companies, 33 companies are branch companies of some of the main companies while five companies are dead now,” according to the news story by Noorani.

The story was published after Bajwa declared his assets for being a member of the cabinet of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

As per declared assets, his immovable property is worth Rs151.433 million — two in Islamabad, two in Karachi, two in Lahore and one each in Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur.

Shares worth Rs3, 100,000 have been bought in his wife’s name. The documents have listed one car, the Toyota ZX 2016, worth Rs3 million.

Two bank accounts in Islamabad have Rs291, 000 and Rs1, 239, respectively. Lt Gen Bajwa also has a foreign currency account in Rawalpindi containing $4,149.

Meanwhile, talking to media Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the authenticity of a news report on alleged offshore properties and businesses of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority Chairman Lt-Gen retired Asim Saleem Bajwa and his family will be clear soon.

FM Qureshi said, “It is now a regular practice that the news is run without confirmation. News should be made public once it is confirmed. The truth, in this case, will come to the fore soon,” he added.

Bajwa is a former director-general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, and was appointed as a special assistant to PM Khan on the information in April this year.