Release of Pandora Papers ruffles Pakistani politics; Imran Khan vows probe

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The release of Pandora Papers containing the names of Imran’s close associates Khan has disrupted Pakistani politics and sparked calls for the resignation of the Pakistani prime minister.

Documents published in the news have revealed the names of 700 Pakistani people and members of the Prime Minister. Imran Khan’s cabinet, his inner circle, including cabinet ministers and their families, who have secretly owned a number of companies holding millions of dollars of hidden wealth, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Among those whose properties have been exposed are Khan’s finance minister, Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin, and his family, and the son of Khan’s former finance and income adviser, Waqar Masood Khan. The records also reveal the overseas transactions of a major PTI donor, Arif Naqvi, facing fraud charges in the US, ICIJ said.

Members of the opposition Pakistan The Muslim League party called for Imran Khan’s resignation on Sunday following the publication of Pandora Papers. Forced on the back foot, Imran khan On Sunday he said on Twitter that his government will investigate all the citizens mentioned in the Pandora Papers.

“My government will investigate all of our citizens mentioned in the Pandora Documents and if any crime is established, we will take appropriate measures. I call on the international community to treat this grave injustice as something similar to the climate change crisis,” Khan tweeted.

According to the ICIJ report, Pakistan’s civilian government and military leaders have been hiding vast amounts of wealth in a country ravaged by widespread poverty and tax evasion.

ICIJ said Pakistan’s elites use offshore services that rival the findings of the Panama Papers, which led to Sharif’s downfall and helped propel Imran Khan to power three years ago.

The revelations are part of Pandora Papers, a new global investigation into the shady offshore financial system that enables multinational corporations, the rich, famous and powerful to avoid taxes and protect their wealth.

The investigation is based on more than 11.9 million confidential files from 14 offshore service companies leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with 150 news organizations around the world, according to the ICIJ.

The document has revealed many key Pakistani military leaders and the transfer of wealth between generations. The finds offer a portrait of an inexplicable military elite with extensive personal and family possessions abroad.

Pakistan’s prime minister is surrounded by people – cabinet ministers and their families, donors and other political allies – who have hidden stakes offshore, according to the ICIJ.

Pakistani Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and some members of his family own four offshore companies. Omer Bakhtyar, brother of Khan’s Minister of Industries Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, transferred a $ 1 million apartment in the Chelsea area of ​​London to his elderly mother through an offshore company in 2018.

Faisal Vawda, Khan’s former water resources minister, established an offshore company in 2012 to invest in UK property. He resigned in March amid controversy over his status as a dual citizen of the United States and Pakistan. Imran Khan’s financial backers are prominent in the leaked documents, according to the ICIJ.