File photo. Courtesy ISPR
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday dismissed a recently published report on the assets owned by the family of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, describing it as “totally untrue and based on blatant lies.”
In a statement, the military’s media wing claimed the information being circulated on social media was based on “misleading” data. “These misleading figures are exaggerated and based on assumption,” it said, adding that a specific group had “cleverly and dishonestly” associated the assets of Gen. Bajwa’s daughter-in-law’s father and family with that of the Army chief and his family.
“An incorrect impression is being created that these assets were created by Army chief Gen. Bajwa’s family during his six-year tenure. It is totally untrue, based on blatant lies and malice,” it said, adding that all assets owned by the COAS, his wife, and the rest of his family had been declared to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
“Army chief and his family regularly file tax return. Like every citizen, the Army chief and his family are accountable to the tax authorities for their assets,” it added.
FactFocus report
Last week, investigative news website FactFocus published a report accusing the Army chief and his family of amassing assets worth Rs. 12.7 billion during his tenure as the COAS. Citing tax records and wealth statements of Gen. Bajwa’s wife, Ayesha Amjad, it claimed her assets had gone from zero in 2016 to Rs. 2.2 billion in 2021, adding this did not include any residential plots, commercial plots and houses given by the Army to her husband.
Similarly, it alleged that the declared assets of Mahnoor Sabir—Gen. Bajwa’s daughter-in-law—had increased from zero in the last week of October 2018 to Rs. 1,271 million on Nov. 2, 2018. It alleged the tax returns of Sabir Hameed—Mahnoor’s father—were less than a million in 2013 but “in the coming years, he became a billionaire.” The publication said it had been unable to obtain any data about the assets of Gen Bajwa’s two sons.
A day after the report was published, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar took notice of the alleged leak of private tax information and ordered a probe to fix responsibility on the people responsible. Subsequently, he told media that two officials of the FBR had been identified as the leakers, stressing that no one was permitted to share anyone’s tax records without court orders.