What's new

The art of corruption by PA

ARMY CHIEF QAMAR BAJWA’S FAMILY BECAME BILLIONAIRE WITHIN THE LAST SIX YEARS

The General’s family also started joint business ventures with Sabir “Mithu” Hameed of Lahore (father to Mahnoor and father-in-law of Bajwa’s son) and the same year the Hameed’s started transferring capital outside Pakistan and purchasing properties abroad.

The General’s wife Ayesha became a multi-billionaire with large farmhouses in Gulberg Greens Islamabad and Karachi, multiple residential plots in Lahore, and commercial plots and plazas in DHA schemes.

Bajwa’s wife became the owner of two commercial plazas in phase IV and phase VI of DHA Lahore while he was COAS. The General’s wife used to hold money (some half a million dollars) in her United States Dollars (USD) accounts.

FBR records show that the General’s wife was warned multiple times for concealing assets, Fact Focus will release the details of these records in a follow-up report.

The General’s family started an oil business in 2018, Taxx Pakistan, headquartered in Dubai and expanded all over Pakistan within a few months.

Despite many efforts over the last three years, Fact Focus was unable to obtain data about assets in the name of the General’s two sons.

Ahmad Noorani


When Qamar Javed Bajwa became a lieutenant general, his wife was not even a tax filer. His closest friend in Lahore, Sabir “Mithu” Hameed, was a good businessman but not a billionaire. Everything changed for both families as they moved ahead and become one family.

Within six years, both families become billionaires, started an international business, purchased multiple foreign properties, started transferring capital abroad, become owners of commercial plazas, commercial plots, huge farmhouses in Islamabad and Karachi, an immense real estate portfolio in Lahore, and so on. The current market value of the – known – assets and businesses within Pakistan and outside accumulated by the Bajwa family during the last six years is more than Rs12.7 billion.


Gen-Bajwa.jpeg


Chief of Army Staff Pakistan General Qamar Javed Bajwa



Here different members of General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s extended family are discussed separately. Starting with Ayesha Amjad, wife of General Bajwa, to Mr. “Mithu” (Sabir Hameed, General Bajwa’s old friend and father-in-law of his eldest son) and his family. A picture emerges, illustrating how the properties of these families increased during the last six years of General Bajwa’s ‘rule’.


Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) of Pakistan Army Major General Babar Iftikhar was repeatedly approached by this correspondent for three consecutive days but he avoided responding to the calls. Sabir Hameed (Mithu) also avoided attending calls or responding to questions from Fact Focus. Fact Focus will publish the complete viewpoint of General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Sabir Hameed if they decided to speak on these points.

The General’s wife

Ayesha-Amjad.jpeg


Ayesha Amjad daughter of Maj. Gen. Ijaz Amjad and wife of COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa


Qamar Javed Bajwa, in his returns for the year 2013, had declared that his wife had three properties in her name. These properties were:
  1. an eight-marla commercial plot in phase-VIII of DHA Lahore (declared value: Rs3,000,000),
  2. one Kanal plot in DHA Islamabad (declared value: Rs1,500,000), and
  3. an eight-marla commercial plot in phase-IV of the DHA Lahore (declared value: Rs2,500,000).

2013 General Qamar Bajwa Return

2013 General Qamar Bajwa Wealth Statement

2013 Wealth Statement of General Qamar Bajwa Revised

2013 Wealth Statement of General Qamar Bajwa Revised second time

2013 Wealth Statement of General Qamar Bajwa Revised for the third time


The market values (minimum) of these three and all other assets later accumulated by her during the last six years are given at the end of this section.

General Bajwa initially submitted this return and wealth statement in 2013 on November 30. However, after being appointed COAS he revised the wealth statement for this year three times: on September 17, 2017, November 02, 2017, and November 08, 2017. In the revised wealth statement for the year 2013, General Bajwa added a commercial plot in phase VIII of DHA Lahore. He claimed that in fact he had purchased this plot back in 2013 but forgot to declare. He would continue to forget for the next four years and could only remember his omissions in 2017, one year after becoming army chief.
Ayesha Amjad, the wife of General Bajwa, registered as a tax filer on August 10, 2016. Her husband was to be considered as a candidate for being appointed the next army chief of the country in November 2016. The 2016 annual return and wealth statement was her first-ever declaration with the FBR which was originally submitted on October 28, 2016, just three weeks before Bajwa was appointed the army chief.

2016:

In her 2016 declaration, Ayesha Amjad declared eight “Any Other Assets” without describing them. This wealth statement was however revised on April 17, 2018, when General Bajwa army chief. Declared values were mentioned in the returns. Market values are given below. Ayesha declared that the net value of her assets during the previous financial year, 2015, was zero.

2016 Tax Return Ayesha Amjad

2016 Wealth Statement Ayesha Amjad

2016 Revised Wealth Statement


[Readers can click on the above-given web links to download and examine the annual returns, wealth statement, and revised wealth statement]

2017:

The 2017 wealth statement showed nine “Any Other Assets” and only described two properties including:

  1. A commercial plaza in phase-VI DHA Lahore, and
  2. An under-construction 4047 sq ft flat in phase-V of DHA Lahore.
Market values of these assets are mentioned below where all assets are identified.

2017 Tax Return of Ayesha Amjad

2017 Wealth Statement of Ayesha Amjad


2018:

The tax records for the year 2018 show that Ayesha retained all the previous years’ assets and purchased five more commercial and residential properties. She also declared a USD foreign currency account this year which had USD 384,166 = PKR 35,691,882 in it.

Five new properties added this year include:

  1. Oasis farmhouse DHA Karachi (advance payment)
  2. An apartment (mentioned as a plot but later corrected as apartment in following years) at PAF Housing Scheme Karachi
  3. Four marla commercial plot # C/E/00391, DHA phase 9 Lahore
  4. Four marla commercial plot # PC/E/00132 DHA Phase 9, Lahore
  5. Apartment 2730 Sq ft in Sukh Chayn Islamabad (advance payment)
Declared values are shown in the wealth statement. Marker values (minimum) are given at the end.

2018 Tax Returns of Ayesha Amjad

2018 Wealth Statement of Ayesha Amjad


2019:

The tax records for the next year, 2019, show all properties, except one, were maintained and one new property was added.

Ayesha sold one property this year and had a capital gain of Rs 43,000,000. She immediately converted all Pakistan Rupees into United States Dollars. Pakistani currency was devaluing at a rapid pace in those days.

The money in the foreign currency account reached USD 656,030 = PKR 66,083,330.

Amounts in other bank accounts and cash and prize bonds were in the tens of millions and can be checked from the returns.

The following properties were purchased/identified:

  1. Purchased commercial plaza in phase-IV DHA Lahore,
  2. An “Any Other Asset” entry was identified as an eight-marla commercial plaza in phase-VI of DHA Lahore,
  3. 500 yards plot in DHA Islamabad (Identified. Earlier it was declared as “Any Other Asset” without a description.)
2019 Returns and Wealth Statement of Ayesha Amjad

2020:

This year, Ayesha retained all the previous properties and purchased two large farmhouses in Gulberg Greens Islamabad. She also declared Dollar FCA account balance USD 478157.78.

Both new farmhouses were ten Kanal each in sector B of Gulberg Greens Islamabad. Ayesha declared that she had bought one farmhouse for Rs 50,000,000 (and two for Rs 100,000,000). However, the minimum market price of one ten Kanal farmhouse in sector B of Gulberg Greens was Rs 150,000,000. So, two farmhouses would cost Rs 300,000,000 at the minimum. One of these farmhouses was a corner plot at the crossroads of street 9A and street 8. Both farmhouses are adjacent, together with an immense 20 Kanal farmhouse property in the heart of Gulberg. Clearly, this was one of the largest cases of misdeclaration.

2020 Returns and Wealth Statement of Ayesha Amjad


GG33.jpg
Farmhouse no 70 and 71 on street B-9A in Gulberg Greens Islamabad

2021:

All properties were retained. Her foreign currency account balance stood at USD 591,831 = PKR 59,846,330.

The market value of assets obtained by Ayesha Amjad during her husband’s six year tenure as army chief:

  1. Rs150 million – 10 Kanal Farmhouse, plot 70, street B-9A, Gulberg Greens, Islamabad
  2. Rs150 million – 10 Kanal Farmhouse, plot 71, street B-9A, Gulberg Greens, Islamabad
  3. Rs187 million – Oasis farmhouse DHA Karachi (advance payment)
  4. Rs650 million – Commercial Plaza phase IV DHA Lahore
  5. Rs389 million – 8 Marla Commercial Plaza phase VI DHA Lahore
  6. Rs70 million – 4 marla commercial plot # C/E/00391, DHA phase 9 Lahore
  7. Rs70 million – 4 marla commercial plot # PC/E/00132 DHA Phase 9, Lahore
  8. Rs88 million – Apartment 2730 Sq ft in Sukh Chayn Islamabad
  9. Rs125 million – 4047 sq ft flat in phase-V of DHA Lahore
  10. Rs95 million – 500 yards plot at phase II extension DHA Islamabad
  11. Rs90 million – An apartment at PAF Housing Scheme Karachi
And more than 160 million in cash, bonds, ornaments, money in bank accounts, and foreign currency.

2021 Returns and Wealth Statement of Ayesha Amjad

Total: 2,224 million
(This does NOT include the residential and commercial plots and a large private residence in Rawalpindi given to General Bajwa in his position as an army general and COAS.)

From zero in 2016 to Rs 2.2 billion (declared and known) in simply six years – not including residential plots, commercial plots, and houses given by the army to her husband.

The making of a young Pakistani billionaire
The total worth of a young woman’s declared assets was zero in the last week of October 2018, it jumped to more than one billion (Rs 1271 million) just one week before her marriage on November 02, 2018.

Mahnoor.jpeg
Mahnoor Sabir

Though Mahnoor Sabir declared these properties to the FBR in 2018, the filing retrospectively stated that these properties were acquired in the tax years 2014, 2015, and 2016. The declarations were made to show that every single property was in fact purchased before November 2016. Why before November 2016? It wasn’t clear at the time but became obvious as time passed. These annual returns, along with the declarations for the tax year 2017, were made on September 14, 2018, and October 23, 2018. Later, declarations for the year 2018 were also submitted on December 17, 2018.

Saad.jpeg
Saad Siddique Bajwa son of army chief and husband of Mahnoor Sabir

Mahnoor’s properties include 212 Kanal and 12 marlas agricultural land at Mauza Julke Lahore, alongside Ferozepur Road (current market value of Rs 340 million), four eight-marla and three four-marla commercial plots in Phase 7 Sector C of DHA Lahore (current market value: Rs 490 million), one Grand Hayat Islamabad apartment (current market value: Rs 70 million), allocations of eight one-Kanal plots in DHA Gujaranawala (current market value: Rs 72 million) and 15,000 shares in a company incorporated in 2014, La Residence (Pvt) Ltd, with declared value Rs 1.5 million.

Click the following links to download and read the complete Annual Returns and Wealth Statements of Mahnoor Sabir
2014 Mahnoor
2015 Return Mahnoor
2015 Return 2 Mahnoor
2015 Wealth Statement Mahnoor
2015 Revised Wealth Statement Mahnoor
2016 Return Mahnoor
2016 Wealth Statement Mahnoor
2016 Wealth Statement Revised Mahnoor
2017 Return Mahnoor
2017 Wealth Statement Mahnoor
2017 Revised Wealth Statement Mahnoor
2018 Return Mahnoor
2018 Wealth Statement Mahnoor
2019 Return and Wealth Statement Mahnoor
2020 Return and Wealth Statement Mahnoor
2021 Return and Wealth Statement Mahnoor


Mahnoor also became ‘the manager’ of an oil company, Taxx Petroleum Pakistan, in November 2019. Taxx Petroleum, which is currently registered as an overseas company in Pakistan with its head office in Dubai, was in fact first registered in Pakistan on November 14, 2018, and later registered in the UAE on January 16, 2019. Incorporation documents of the company taken from Pakistan show Sabir “Mithu” Hameed, father of Mahnoor, and his brother Nasir Hameed as directors. However, Taxx Petroleum, which started its operations across the whole of Pakistan within days following its incorporation, is being run by the Mahnoor, Bajwa’s daughter-in-law, from its declared head office in Dubai. Mahnoor’s LinkedIn profile lists her as a senior manager at Taxx Petroleum.

The FIA travel history record of the Hameed brothers shows that Sabir Mithu and Nasir rarely traveled to the UAE, while General Bajwa’s son Saad and his wife Mahnoor used to live in Dubai and would rarely visit Pakistan.
DHA Gujranwala plots – A corrupt practice

It is a common corrupt practice in bureaucratic circles to purchase lands from poor farmers at low prices in areas where the government is planning future development projects. Mahnoor was a teenager at the time the land is being shown in her name. If this land was in her father’s name (Sabir Hameed alias “Mithu”), the plot allocations would have been eventually divided among all Mahnoor’s siblings. This was not the case. The plots were declared in Mahnoor’s name alone nine days before she came to live in the Army House as the wife of Saad Bajwa. Documents, wealth statements, and tax returns establish beyond an iota of doubt that Mahnoor’s father Sabir and her mother Saadia never owned any Gujranwala land/DHA plots.


Sisters of Mahnoor
Hamna Sabir

Mahnoor’s sister Hamna Sabir turned 18 on January 09, 2016. The very first tax return Hamna filed (on May 08, 2018) for the year 2017 shows that she had no physical assets. She possessed only one bank account and some cash. Hamna’s sister Mahnoor, older by two years and five months, had become a billionaire by 2017. Both of them had no source of income. Both have the same parents. How Mahnoor alone suddenly gained dozens of plots and lands in DHA was an unresolved mystery till late 2018.

On December 17, 2018, Hamna submitted her returns for 2018 and declared only one residential plot in sector Z of Phase 7, one commercial plot in sector C of Phase 7 of DHA Lahore, and a plot of 115 Kanal land in Mauza Jhalkay Lahore. This year, she also declared 15,000 shares in La Residence (Pvt) Ltd and became its Chief Executive. Her bank balance was Rs 3,368,625 whereas she has cash of Rs 247,125. Though daughter to the same parents, Hamna continued to have the same assets in the years 2019, 2020, and even 2021 whereas her elder sister Mahnoor not only became a billionaire but her businesses expanded across Pakistan and she started living in and running a business in the UAE.
2021 Return Hamna
2020 Return Hamna
2019 Return Hamna
2018 Return Hamna
2018 Wealth Statement Hamna
2017 Return Hamna
2017 Wealth Statement Hamna
Aqba Sabir

The very first tax return for Aqaba Sabir, 19, third of the four sisters, was submitted on October 22, 2018, when she was 15, for the year 2017 when her age was 14. Her 2017 tax returns disclosed that in 2016 she had no assets but in 2017 she received three properties as gifts. These properties included one four-marla plot and one eight-marla plot both in sector C, and one eight-marla plot in sector A – all commercial plots in phase 7 of DHA Lahore.

In her tax returns for the year 2018, it was declared that while retaining three commercial properties declared the past year, she had also purchased eight new one-Kanal plots in LDA City (A934 to A941) Lahore, and one two-Kanal plot in DHA (only given address: 84-W, DHA). This year, she also declared 14990 shares in LA Residence Pvt Ltd.

In 2019, when she was 16, it was declared in her tax returns that she had sold her eight-marla commercial plot in sector C of DHA phase 7 for Rs 40 million. She purchased this plot a few months back for Rs 5.6 million and hence made a profit of Rs 30.4 million in this duration. It was declared that she gifted this Rs 40 million money received through the sale of the plot to her mother. Selling this plot and gifting the sale amount resulted in a decrease in her assets. Afterward, her assets remained the same in tax returns for the years 2020 and 2021. (The market value of these assets are same as are mentioned with the assets of other persons in the same areas in this story)
2021 Return Aqba
2020 Return Aqba
2019 Return Aqba
2018 Return Aqba
2018 Wealth Statement Aqba
2017 Return Aqba
2017 Wealth Statement Aqba

A minor

Tax returns of a minor, 12, the youngest of the three sisters of Mahnoor (name not printed because of her status as a minor), were first submitted on October 22, 2018, when her age was eight. These tax returns were for the year 2017 when her age was seven. Her 2017 returns show that she received five properties as a ‘gift’. These properties included one four-marla plot and one eight-marla plot both in sector C, and one eight-marla plot (DV: 5,000,000) in sector A – all commercial plots in phase 7 of DHA Lahore. The other two gifted properties were residential plots each measuring two-Kanal (82-W, 83-W, DHA Lahore).
For the tax year 2018, while retaining all these five properties, the tax returns of the minor girl showed that she received 14990 shares in the LA Residence Pvt Ltd as a gift.
2021 Return Minor
2020 Return Minor
2019 Return Minor
2018 Return Minor
2018 Wealth Statement Aqba
2017 Return Minor
2017 Wealth Statement Minor
2017 Revised Wealth Statement Minor

Saadia Sabir

Mother of these four daughters and wife of Sabir Hameed “Mithu,” Saadia Sabir’s total declared wealth in 2013 was zero. Just like her daughters, she revised her tax returns for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017 in the critical month of October 2018. Her revised declarations were always different from originally submitted declarations. Her declared assets in 2015 include two plots in DHA Lahore and three bank accounts and cash. She also showed eight DHA Lahore plots in the names of her minor daughters. In 2017, there is an increase in assets in her name. She possessed four plots in Lahore along with three bank accounts and some cash. The FBR documents show two plots in the name of one of her daughters. Her wealth statement for the tax year 2017 was revised thrice and the final wealth statement was submitted in October 2018. She retained the same properties in Pakistan in 2019, 2020, and 2021 through the money in her bank accounts kept on increasing.

Foreign Assets: In 2018, Saadia’s assets inside Pakistan were two plots in DHA, Lahore, five bank accounts, and some cash. Along with these properties, Sadia Sabir bought two properties in UAE, worth Rs 254,569,560. She continued to possess these foreign assets in the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
2021 Return Saadia Sabir
2021 Foreign Assets Saadia Sabir
2020 Return Saadia Sabir
2020 Foreign Assets Saadia Sabir
2019 Return Saadia Sabir
2019 Foreign Assets Saadia Sabir
2018 Return Saadia Sabir
2018 Wealth Statement Saadia Sabir
2018 Foreign Assets Saadia Sabir
2017 Return Saadia Sabir
2017 Wealth Statement Saadia Sabir
2017 Revised Wealth Statement Saadia Sabir
2017 Reviased Wealth Statement 2 Saadia Sabir
2017 Revised Wealth Statement 3 Saadia Sabir
2016 Return Saadia Sabir
2016 Wealth Statement Saadia Sabir
2016 Revised Wealth Statement Saadia Sabir
2015 Return Saadia Sabir
2015 Wealth Statement Saadia Sabir
2015 Revised Wealth Statement Saadia Sabir
2014 Return Saadia Sabir
Sabir Hameed alias “Mithu”

(Father of these four girls and husband of Saadia Sabir)

Sabir.jpeg
Sabir Hameed Mithu, known as the property king of Lahore


In 2013, the tax paid by Sabir Hameed was less than one million. In the coming years, he became a billionaire, a powerful property business tycoon of Lahore, and started transferring assets abroad.

FBR documents show that in 2014 Sabir Hameed declared assets included eighteen properties in different areas of Lahore, a business capital of Rs 16 million, a Mercedes Benz, and Rs 152 million in cash. He also showed seven properties as “Any Other Assets” and nine properties as “Assets in Others’ names”.

In line with the family tradition, Sabir also revised his wealth statement for 2014 in 2016.
2014 Returns Sabir Hameed
2014 Wealth Statement 1 Sabir Hameed
2014 Wealth Statement 2 Sabir Hameed
For the tax year 2015, his properties remained the same. His business capital increased to the value of Rs 22 million, and the number of “Any Other Assets” (assets declared without providing details of the assets) decreased to four.
2015 Return Sabir Hameed
2015 Wealth Statement Sabir Hameed

For the year 2016, tax records show his total number of properties increased to 20, business capital increased to 27 million, and the number of “Any other assets increased to seven.
2016 Return Sabir Hameed
2016 Return 2 Sabir Hameed
2016 Wealth Statement Sabir Hameed

In the year 2017, the number of properties in his name increased to twenty-two, and business capital increased to Rs 28 million.
2017 Return Sabir Hameed
2017 Wealth Statement Sabir Hameed

2018:
In 2018, Sabir’s daughter married General Bajwa’s eldest son, and in the same year, he started transferring properties abroad. Sabir declared 21 properties in his name, a business capital of Rs 31 million, cash of Rs 78 million, shares in “M/s Dawn Property” of Rs 985 million, La Residence Pvt Ltd Loan of Rs 136.8 million, some shares in Best Venture Ltd, and shares in H.D. Investment amounting to Rs 764 million.
2018 Return Sabir Hameed
2018 Wealth Statement Sabir Hameed

He retained foreign properties of Rs 312 million, a business capital of Rs 510 million, and two bank accounts.
2018 Foreign Assets Sabir Hameed
In the year 2019, Sabir Hameed had 20 properties in his name, a business capital of Rs 129 million, an investment of Rs 764 million, cash of Rs 273.2 million, and shares amounting to Rs 210 million.
2019 Return Sabir Hameed

Foreign properties 2019:
2019 Foreign Assets Sabir Hameed

Total assets held outside Pakistan Rs 1,031,310,465
In the year 2020, Sabir declared 20 properties. His business capital amounts to Rs 141 million, an investment of Rs 764 million, and shares worth Rs 217 million.
2020 Return Sabir Hameed
Foreign properties 2020:

Assets held outside Pakistan worth Rs 312,375,000
2020 Foreign Assets Sabir Hameed
In 2021, Sabir declared 26 properties. These are agricultural, commercial, and residential properties in the most expensive areas of Lahore. Other than that he owns shares in land opposite EME housing society, 55 Kanal land in Mouza Thetre, Lahore Cantt, 10 Kanal land in Derta Chahal, and a half share in house 72 K in DHA Lahore. Other than these properties he had business capital of Rs 141million including capital in Dawn Motors, Rashid Filling Station, Capital Dawn Communication, investment of Rs 764 million, two Mercedes Benz and a Lexus, cash of Rs 380.3 million, and an inheritance.
2021 Return Sabir Hameed
2021 Revised Wealth Statement Sabir Hameed


Foreign properties 2021:

Assets held outside Pakistan worth Rs. 1,033,970,266. This also includes bank accounts. The address of the properties in Dubai are as follows:

80.23 SQ, Property No. 3106, Plot No. 156 MTR, – BUILDING NO 2, The Dubai

Mall Residences, Dubai and 135.45 SQ, Property No. 2302, Plot No. 156, MTR, – Building No 2, The Dubai, Mall Residences, Dubai.



2021 Foreign Assets Sabir Hameed
Nasir Hameed


Nasir Hameed is Sabir “Mithu” Hameed’s brother and is now an influential and wealthy person in Lahore.

Nasir.jpeg
Nasir Hameed brother of Mithu (Sabir Hameed)


Nasir’s 2014 returns were submitted in March 2016. The wealth statement for this tax year was originally submitted in March 2016–however, continuing the tradition of the extended Bajwa family, a revised wealth statement for this year was submitted in December 2019. This revised statement showed seven agricultural and eleven residential and commercial properties in DHA, Ravi Town, and Gulberg Town. He had a business capital of Rs 12 million and assets of Rs 11 million in the name of his spouse and daughter.

2014 Return Nasir Hameed

2015 Return Nasir Hameed

2015 Wealth Statemnent Nasir Hameed

2015 Revised Wealth Statement Nasir Hameed


The 2016 wealth statement of Nasir was originally submitted in February 2017 but was revised in December 2019. There was no change in assets.

2016 Return Nasir Hameed
2016 Wealth Statement Nasir Hameed
2016 Revised Wealth Statement Nasir Hameed




Nasir’s 2017 wealth statement was originally submitted in December 2017 but later revised in December 2019 and retained almost the same assets.


2017 Return Nasir Hameed
2017 Wealth Statement Nasir Hameed
2017 Revised Wealth Statement Nasir Hameed


The 2018 wealth statement shows a similar pattern. It was originally submitted in November 2018 but later revised in December 2019. During this year, Nasir retained the same assets and the only increase was an amount from a prize bond.

2018 Return Nasir Hameed

2018 Wealth Statement Nasir Hameed


2018 Revised Wealth Statement Nasir Hameed

Nasir’s 2019 wealth statement shows eight agricultural properties and ten commercial and residential properties in different parts of Lahore including DHA and Gulberg.

2019 Return Nasir Hameed

The tax records for 2020 show an increase in agricultural properties. Nasir declared ten agricultural properties, ten commercial and residential properties in different parts of Lahore, and a business capital of Rs 12.8 million. Nasir’s 2021 wealth statement showed he had multiple properties worth almost Rs 3 billion and, in addition, he owns several houses of unknown measurement in different parts of Lahore.

2020 Return Nasir Hameed

2021 Return Nasir Hameed


The total worth of known assets, properties, and businesses held in Pakistan and abroad runs into tens of billions. However, a careful examination of the minimum possible market value of these properties and businesses in more than Rs12.7 billion. This does not include what General Bajwa has acquired from the government, the army, the DHAs, etc for being a major general, lieutenant general, and as chief of army staff.

EXPLORING THE GLOBAL REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS OF A PAKISTAN ARMY GENERAL

Musharraf’s former military secretary, Gen Shafaat, conceded to Fact Focus that the London property belonging to Indian businessman Akbar Asif was transferred to his wife’s name in 2007 while he held the position of corps commander in Lahore. He admitted that he paid only half of the property’s value for this transfer.

Gen Shafaat provides no evidence of having paid even half of the value of the London property.

General Shafaat’s family only officially declared the London property (while understating its actual value) in 2017, following the revelation that the offshore company owning the London apartment had been named in the Panama Papers in 2016.

General Shafaat declared his Dubai apartment following the Dubai Leaks, but he continued to conceal his luxurious apartment in Manhattan.

When declaring his Dubai apartment, General Shafaat referred to a position in the IT infrastructure company Texpo, from which he received substantial salaries without actual employment.

The management of global real estate holdings and international investments by Pakistan army generals underscores the use of innovative methods that may raise concerns about potential money laundering.

Usman Manzoor


ISLAMABAD: One of Pakistan’s top generals, a key associate of the former dictator General Pervez Musharraf, has acquired luxurious properties in Manhattan, London, and Dubai with no apparent sources of income, and maintained secrecy about these holdings from Pakistani tax authorities over an extended period.

Army general acquired one property while he was a corps commander in Lahore and the other two during the first two and a half years of his retirement. The General issued false statements to the press and public. The General also cheated the tax authorities by concealing and reporting false values of properties and sources of income for these purchases.

General Shafaat Ullah Shah served as a military secretary to General Musharraf, as corps commander in Lahore, and as chief of logistics staff at the general headquarters in Rawalpindi. Earlier Fact Focus has also reported on the worldwide assets and properties held by General Asim Saleem Bajwa, the deputy military secretary to General Musharraf.

In 2007, while serving as a corps commander in Lahore, Gen Shafaat acquired a London apartment through an offshore company, registered in his wife Fariha Shah’s name, from an Indian citizen named Akbar Asif. According to his tax records, in his tax returns for the year 2007, he declared his total annual income of Rs804,961 income (Rs67,080 per month) and paid Rs73,785 tax. In 2008, he declared an annual income of Rs858,378, with Rs60,000 given in charitable donations leaving taxable income at Rs790,378 and ultimately he paid Rs59,278 as taxes. He maintained secrecy about this property for a decade, concealing it from Pakistani tax authorities until 2017 when the offshore company, Talah Limited, was named in the Panama Papers. Subsequently, when the ownership of his London property was disclosed in early 2021 as part of the Pandora Papers, he put forth six claims to rationalize the acquisition of the apartment. Fact Focus investigations into these assertions, supported by official documents from three governments, have revealed that all of these claims are misleading and false.

In 2011, General Shafaat acquired an apartment in the UAE using a single year’s salary drawn from Texpo, a Dubai-based IT infrastructure company. He maintained secrecy about this property from Pakistani tax authorities for six years. His tax records in Pakistan show that in the year 2011, he declared an annual income of Rs600,000 income (Rs50,000 per month) and he paid Rs50,622 as his annual tax. In one of his annual statements, General Shafaat declared Rs14 million as rental income from his UAE apartment. Additionally, he concealed his employment with Texpo UAE, which also had an office in Pakistan, for an extended duration, only disclosing it in 2017 when he was required to declare and account for his UAE properties.

In 2012, General Shafaat acquired a luxurious apartment in downtown Manhattan for a sum of USD 1.4 million. According to tax records in Pakistan, in the year 2012, Gen Shafaat declared an annual income of Rs720,000 income (Rs60,000 per month) and he paid Rs48,500 tax. He retained sole ownership of this property until December 2021, at which point he extended ownership to include his wife and son. General Shafaat did not disclose his Manhattan property even when declaring his London and UAE properties in 2017. It remained undisclosed to Pakistani authorities until he held sole ownership of the property.

The Manhattan property

Fact Focus investigations, based on the official records of the New York City government, unveil that an individual bearing the name ‘Shafaat Shah’ acquired a high-end condominium in downtown Manhattan, making a payment of USD 1.4 million on April 13, 2012. Notably, the signatures of ‘Shafaat Shah’ on the property documents for this Manhattan condo matched the signatures of Lt Gen Shafaat Ullah Shah in the official records of the government of Pakistan.

General Shafaat waited for twenty-eight months following his retirement before acquiring the Manhattan property in April 2012. Just a few months prior to this purchase, he also acquired another apartment in Dubai, UAE in 2011.

Deed-P-1.jpg
Front Page of 2012 Deed of Manhattan apartment of Gen Shafaat



Deed-P-8.jpg
Page 8 of the Deed shows the value of the property


Links to download complete official Documents

2012 Deed

2012 Power of Attorney

2021 Transfer to wife and his son


[Any reader can verify these records from the official government website by clicking on the following link https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/taxes/acris.page and then clicking on these tabs on web pages: “Begin By Using ARCIS” → “Search Property Records” → “Parcel Identifier” and then by putting block and lot numbers as shown in documents. The borough’s name is “Manhattan”. Readers can verify the historical ownership of the property by changing the date ranges in the relevant column.]

Additional inquiries conducted by Fact Focus into General Shafaat’s records and transactions in Pakistan revealed that the general never remitted or transferred such a substantial sum to the USA. Furthermore, even his tax records for the relevant year do not corroborate this amount and transaction.


New York City government records indicate that he retained ownership of this property until December 2021 when he executed a transfer, including himself, his wife, and his son as owners. An extensive analysis of his tax records reveals that General Shafaat did not report this Manhattan property to Pakistani tax authorities during the period when he was the sole owner of the apartment. The annual property taxes, amounting to millions of rupees, were being paid in the U.S. from undisclosed sources and were not documented in his Pakistani tax statements.

2014-16Shafaat-W.jpg
Images of relevant parts of the wealth statement of Gen Shafaat for the years 2014 and 2016 show that the Manhattan property is not declared to tax authorities in Pakistan.

Documents also indicate that the annual taxes paid by General Shafaat in the U.S. for this sole Manhattan property over the years surpassed the total annual taxes he was remitting in Pakistan.

The UAE wealth of the army general

After the Panama Papers revelations, not only did General Shafaat’s wife and son declare the London apartment, but both General Shafaat and his son also declared apartments in Dubai. They provided two different addresses and indicated joint ownership. However, it raises a question: Are these two separate apartments? General Shafaat responded to Fact Focus that he and his son jointly own only one apartment in Dubai.


1-watermarked_2017-Shafaat-W.jpg
Image from Gen Shafaat’s tax for the year 2017 (following Dubai Leaks) returns showing his declaration of an apartment in Dubai and a job with Texpo, UAE


2016-17-Raza-W.jpg
Images from Raza’s tax statements in 2016 and 2017. Subsequent to the disclosure of the Panama Papers and Dubai Leaks in 2016-17, his wealth statement for the year 2017 underwent a sudden transformation.

While declaring the UAE property on his tax returns for the year 2017, General Shafaat claimed that he purchased the property using the money he earned from his role as a member of the Board of Texpo, UAE. However, he did not specify the year of purchase. The apartment’s address, as indicated in his 2017 declaration, was “Flat # 202 J5, Dubai,” and it was originally acquired for AED 1.618 million (USD 440,905 in 2011). According to the tax papers, the property is jointly owned by General Shafaat and his son, Raza Ullah Shah. General Shafaat informed Fact Focus that he bought the apartment in Dubai in 2011.

In the same year, 2017, his son Raza declared a ½ share in a different apartment located at “Flat # 74/0, 2nd Floor, J5, Al Safouh, First Dubai.” However, the declaration did not specify the purchase value or the year of purchase. Raza did mention that this apartment was a gift from his father. It’s worth noting that Raza is the only son of General Shafaat.

Gen Shafaat also mentioned that his remuneration as a member of Texpo was never remitted to Pakistan.

Four years after declaring the UAE apartments, Gen Shafaat also disclosed a bank account in the UAE, showing that he had Rs14.45 million (equivalent to USD 100,000 in 2020-21) received as rent from his apartment. His son, Raza, also reported that money was received into his father’s foreign bank account as rent for his apartment in the UAE.



1-watermarked_rent-1.jpg
Image of a tax return for General Shafaat, displaying his income from the rental of his Dubai apartment.

Role of Gen Shafaat in Texpo UAE

Texpo is an IT infrastructure company with offices in the UAE, the USA, and Pakistan. However, there is no indication in Gen Shafaat’s profile that he possesses expertise in the field of Information Technology or Computer Software.

In his interview with Fact Focus, he mentioned that he began working at Texpo immediately after his retirement as a lieutenant general in November 2009. When questioned about his work and responsibilities at Texpo, Gen Shafaat admitted that he rarely visited the Texpo office in the UAE and resided at his Lahore home throughout his association with the company. He also confessed to lacking expertise in information technology.

When asked how he was appointed to the Texpo board without IT-related qualifications and what his responsibilities were, Gen Shafaat admitted his lack of IT background. He emphasized that he lived at his home in Lahore and seldom visited Texpo’s UAE office. He suggested directing such inquiries to the company itself regarding the criteria for his selection. Furthermore, he mentioned another army officer without an IT background who was also hired by Texpo. Gen Shafaat claimed that he purchased the Dubai apartment by investing his salaries from just one year (2010-11) received from this company.

Efforts were made to contact Mr. Sarfaraz Alam, CEO of Texpo, by Fact Focus, but no responses were received. Queries regarding the duration of Gen Shafaat’s tenure on the Texpo board, details of his remunerations, and the qualifications that qualified him for the position remain unanswered.


Sarfaraz-Alam-CEO-of-Texpo-.jpg
Sarfaraz Ashfaque Alam, CEO of HashMove, Texpo

The London Apartment

Fact Focus has established that the army general acquired this luxurious London apartment in his wife’s name from an Indian citizen for a nominal sum. We present documents demonstrating that Indian businessman Akbar Asif initially purchased this London apartment under the name of an offshore company, Talah Limited, for more than USD 1.2 million (GBP 675,000). After a few months, ownership of this offshore company was transferred to the wife of Pakistan Army’s Lahore corps commander, Gen Shafaat, who was residing in the well-known ‘Jinnah House’ of Lahore at the time. Notably, Fariha Shah, in her 2007 tax statements, did not disclose this purchase, and there is no evidence of any payment to the Indian citizen by Gen Shafaat or his wife.



1-watermarked_UK-Land-Registry.jpg
An image from the UK Land Registry Sale Deed Document of 2006 when Indian Businessman Akbar Asif purchased this property in the name of offshore company Talah Limited for GBP 676,250 (more than USD 1.2 million in 2006)

[Download complete Deed – UK Land Registry Document of London Apartment 2006]


According to documents the Indian national directors of Talah Limited resigned and Fariha was appointed as the director of the company for the purpose of the change of ownership of the company. The document reads: “Appointment of Directors: It was resolved that the following persons be appointed as Directors of the above company.

Name: Mrs. Fariha Shah, Passport Number: AA5****3*, Nationality: Pakistani

Resignation of Directors: It was resolved to accept the resignation of Mr. Mannan Adenwalla & Mr. Ravindra Vasant Rao Chitnis with immediate effect.

Closure: There being no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting.”

However, in their 2017 tax returns, Gen Shafaat’s wife and son declared that they paid USD 620,000 (GBP 310,000) for the apartment’s purchase. This amount is half of the price at which the Indian citizen had acquired the apartment just a few months earlier. It has already been established that this Indian businessman received a favor from General Musharraf during Gen Shafaat’s tenure as military secretary.


2016-2017-Fariha-W.jpg
Images from the 2016 and 2017 tax returns of Fariha Shah. It reveals that she only declared the London apartment she acquired in 2007 in 2017, following the exposure of her offshore company, Talah Limited, in the Panama Papers. Combined with her son Raza’s 2017 return (image shown above in this article), this corroborates that the Shafaat family paid (if they paid at all) considerably less than half of the London apartment’s price to Indian businessman Akbar Asif.

What made the army general declare offshore assets after a decade-long concealment
Gen Shafaat concealed his foreign assets for a decade, finally declaring them in a sequel to the Panama Leaks, which was reported by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The Panama Papers, revealing the offshore wealth of thousands of people worldwide, including hundreds of Pakistanis, were released on April 01, 2016. While the offshore company Talah Limited was named in the Panama Papers, its ownership was not disclosed.

Shortly after the Panama Papers release, Gen Shafaat’s wife and son declared the London apartment without specifying the name of the offshore company. Gen Shafaat was appointed as Pakistan’s ambassador to Jordan in September 2015 by then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Under tax laws, he was not obligated to file annual returns in Pakistan in 2017 as he and his family were not tax residents during that period.

However, due to the outcry in the country following the Panama Papers leak, in which even the Prime Minister faced a case related to the leak, the Gen Shafaat family hastened to declare the London apartment. The date of acquiring the apartment was not mentioned in their declaration.

Adding to the Panama Leaks, five years later, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) unveiled another extensive database of offshore companies known as the Pandora Papers. These papers disclosed the precise date of purchase of the foreign property owned by the Pakistani General through an offshore company. In response to the Pandora Papers’ release in 2021, Gen Shafaat labeled it as a conspiracy by the Indian intelligence agency RAW against him.


panama-banner.jpg
General Shafaat is the sole Pakistan Army General whose foreign assets were highlighted in both ICIJ’s Panama Papers and Pandora Papers.


General Shafaat initiated his tax filing in Pakistan on January 15, 2002, as per Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) records, and consistently filed his annual tax returns each year. His wife, Fariha Shah, followed suit on April 26, 2007, and his only son, Raza Ullah Shah, on July 10, 2014, becoming tax filers themselves. All three continued to file their tax returns annually after becoming filers. However, it’s notable that none of them ever declared foreign properties or assets until the year 2017, a few months following the report on offshore companies and foreign properties of numerous Pakistanis by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in the Panama Papers.

1-watermarked_FBR-Tax-Filer-1.jpg
Images were taken from the FBR website by entering the CNIC numbers of Gen Shafaat, Fariha, and Raza. These images show when members of the Gen Shafaat family started filing annual tax returns.


Background of the London apartment
The apartment, located at Flat # 155, Discovery Dock, East 3 South Quay Square, London E149RZ, UK, was initially purchased by Gen Shafaat through an offshore company named Talah Limited, which was owned by an Indian businessman Akbar Asif in 2007. At the time of purchase, the property was registered in the name of Gen Shafaat’s wife, Fariha Shah. According to Fariha Shah’s 2017 tax filing, a decade after the 2007 purchase, she held a 50% share of the apartment, which was valued at GBP155,000 (equivalent to USD310,000 in 2007).

However, three years later, in 2010, their only son, Raza, assumed equal ownership of the apartment alongside his mother by becoming the director of the offshore company that held the property. In his 2017 declaration, Raza Ullah Shah asserted that he paid GBP155,000 for his 50% share.

Talah-Limited.jpeg
Image showing dates of appointment of directors in Talah Limited. Photo Credit: ICIJ Pandora Papers

This reveals that the combined amount claimed by Gen Shafaat’s family (GBP155,000 + GBP155,000 = GBP310,000) is even less than half of the price at which Akbar Asif acquired the same apartment just a few months prior. Why the Indian businessman did this is a question worth a million dollars.

An open admission of money laundering

In his interview with Fact Focus, General Shafaat claimed that he paid the full amount of GBP310,000 to acquire the London apartment to an individual in Pakistan. This statement by General Shafaat can also be interpreted as an indirect acknowledgment of potential financial irregularities during the money transfer process to the UK.

It is noteworthy that the official records of the government of Pakistan indicate that he, along with his wife and son, departed from Pakistan on June 30, 2007, and returned on July 13, 2007. This was during his tenure as a serving army general and corps commander in Lahore.

Background of Indian citizen Akbar Asif and his meeting with Gen Musharraf

Akbar Asif is the son of famous Indian filmmaker K. Asif. Gen Shafaat admitted meeting Akbar Asif during a meeting held between General Musharraf and the former. This meeting was held on December 06, 2004, in London.

azam-5.webp
GenShafaat was present when Indian Businessman Akbar Asif presented the print of the blockbuster Indian classic movie “Mughal-e-Azam” to General Pervez Musharraf. (Picture Credit: Geo News, Pakistan website)

This meeting followed the lifting of a ban on Akbar Asif’s father’s famous blockbuster Indian Classic film Mughal-e-Azam. Subsequently, this development played a pivotal role in the overall removal of restrictions on the distribution of Indian movies in Pakistan.

Shifting responsibility on Maliha Lodhi

In his interview with Fact Focus, General Shafaat emphasized that his sole involvement in Akbar Asif’s meeting with General Musharraf was being present and being photographed when Akbar presented the print of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ to Gen Musharraf. Shafaat clarified, ‘I was not the one who arranged this meeting.’ When questioned about how an Indian businessman’s meeting with the President of Pakistan occurred without the knowledge of his military secretary, Shafaat pointed out, ‘It was not me, but Maliha Lodhi, the then High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK, who organized this meeting through Begum Sahiba.’ Here, he referred to Sehba Musharraf, General Musharraf’s wife, by using the title ‘Begum Sahiba’.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi’s Denial

Dr Maleeha Lodhi who was then Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London denied her office had anything to do with arranging this meeting.

Gen Shafaat’s overall reaction
While speaking with Fact Focus, General Shafaat emphasized that declaring properties immediately after their purchase is not of utmost importance. He argued, “Many people choose not to declare their assets, so what’s the issue?” General Shafaat expressed his opinion that news reports regarding Nawaz Sharif’s London apartments were valid, given his inability to provide a clear money trail. In his case, he stated that he possesses all the details regarding the funds used to purchase the apartment. However, he did not share these specifics with Fact Focus.

General Shafaat acknowledged that he acquired the UAE apartment in 2011, approximately two years after retiring as a lieutenant general in 2009. He admitted he declared this UAE flat to tax authorities in Pakistan in 2017. He asserted, “No one can question me why I didn’t declare foreign properties for so many years. When I realized the necessity to declare, I complied,” he stated.

False claims made by the army general

Fact Focus investigations reveal that in his responses to ICIJ, the media, and questions posed on his social media posts, General Shafaat made statements that contradict the information contained in Inland Revenue records and other official government records of Pakistan. Here is a compilation of six such claims, along with Fact Focus investigations into these assertions.

i- London apartment purchased for the education of son

When General Shafaat acknowledged the acquisition of a London apartment during his tenure as corps commander of the Pakistan Army in Lahore, it raised questions from many regarding the necessity of such a purchase when he held official residences and private homes in Pakistan. In response, Gen Shafaat explained that he bought the London apartment in 2007 for the purpose of his son’s education.





1-watermarked_Shafaat-Tweets.jpg


Image of some of the tweets of Gen Shafaat he posed after his London apartment was reported in ICIJ’s Pandora Papers. (Link to tweet.)

Official records in Pakistan indicate that he was merely 14 years old at the time the London apartment was acquired.

1-watermarked_Passport-1.jpg


An image of the Passport of Raza Ullah Shah in the investigation file of the case.
Fact Focus also discovered that General Shafaat’s only son, Raza, did not pursue education in the UK. Instead, he graduated from a university in the United States. When asked about this matter, General Shafaat confirmed that his son graduated from New York University, New York.

Official records also confirm that Raza was accepted into a U.S. university some four years after the London apartment’s purchase. The records show that Raza left Pakistan for his foreign education journey on January 30, 2011, boarding Etihad Air flight EY-242 from Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, using a passport with the number AA5****02. Between 2007 and 2010, Raza primarily resided in Pakistan. He had brief visits abroad, lasting 13 days in 2007, 30 days in 2008, and 16 days in 2009. In 2010, he spent two months and ten days outside Pakistan, from August 6 to October 15. Therefore, foreign education during these years is not supported by the records.

British nationality of the family

In his interview with Fact Focus, General Shafaat provided an additional justification for acquiring the London apartment, asserting that his daughter held British nationality due to her birth in the UK during a course he was undertaking there.

A copy of an old passport of Maha Shah in the record of a government department clearly shows her “place of birth” as “Lahore”. This makes things confusing. Either Maha Shah provided accurate information in her passport documents, or there is a discrepancy, possibly implying that Gen Shafaat was untruthful during his interview with Fact Focus.


1-ed_IMG_4956.jpg


An image of an old passport of Maha Shah as present in government records showing her place of birth as “Lahore”. Gen Shafaat stated that she was born in the UK during his interview with Fact Focus.


According to official records in Pakistan, Gen Shafaat’s daughter Maha Shah was born in May 1985. The Union Council birth records of Maha Shah show a name “Farhat” in the column of “Doctor/Midwife”. But, as Gen Shafaat insisted during the interview that his daughter was born in the UK, Fact Focus examined the British nationality laws and consulted with British immigration laws experts.

According to British citizenship laws, the UK does not confer citizenship automatically by birth. A child born in the UK can only be a UK citizen if one or both of their parents are UK nationals, or if they are ‘settled’ in the UK (British Nationality Act 1981). General Shafaat’s statement implies that at least one of the parents was a British national back in May 1985 when their daughter was born.

ii- Gen Shafaat’s claim of declaration of foreign properties to FBR and military authorities

General Shafaat also asserted in media statements that he had disclosed the acquisition of the London apartment to both military authorities and in his tax returns.

Nonetheless, the tax returns of General Shafaat, his wife Fariha Shah, and his son Raza Ullah Shah for the years spanning from 2007 to 2016 reveal that none of them had declared the London apartment.

General Shafaat’s statement, indicating that he declared his foreign properties to the military authorities, raises concerns regarding the protocols within the Pakistan Army and the management of records at GHQ, Rawalpindi. There is no established legal framework authorizing the Pakistan Army to maintain records of its generals’ foreign properties beyond the oversight of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). In a previous instance, following Fact Focus’s revelation on August 28, 2020, concerning the overseas assets of General Asim Saleem Bajwa, then chairman of the China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC), he also made a similar claim about disclosing his foreign investments to the military authorities. However, any such disclosures or record-keeping of foreign assets of army generals by GHQ Rawalpindi have not been publicly disclosed to date.

iii- Dramatic Declaration of the Foreign Wealth in 2017

In their 2017 tax returns, both Fariha and Raza reported the London apartment as jointly owned, with equal shares between them. Notably, the available tax records for Gen Shafaat do not indicate any gift bestowed upon his son, Raza, who was not a tax filer in 2007. Additionally, in these same 2017 tax returns, both Gen Shafaat and Raza disclosed ownership of a UAE apartment. Furthermore, Raza also listed a bank account in Jordan, indicating a balance of Rs3.969 million, which he attributed to salary earnings. The Panama Papers report in 2016 indeed brought about significant changes in the realm of financial disclosures. Here is a year-wise list of taxes paid by Gen Shafaat over the years. Everything clearly changed in 2017.

2007: Rs73,785 tax

2008: Rs59,278 tax

2009: Rs93,993 tax

2010: Rs195,432 tax

2011: Rs50,622 tax

2012: Rs48,500 tax

2013: Rs48,500 tax

2014: Rs370,059 tax

2015: Rs375,841 tax

2016: Rs180,965 tax

2017: Rs938,907 tax

2018: Rs2,291,245 tax

iv- Purchased London property by selling a DHA Lahore plot

General Shafaat also claimed that he financed the purchase of the London apartment by selling a DHA Lahore plot. This statement was initially posted on Twitter but was subsequently removed. (The image of the tweet is displayed earlier in this article.)

The tax records of General Shafaat for the years when this transaction occurred contradict this assertion.

In contrast to General Shafaat’s assertions regarding funding the London apartment’s acquisition through the sale of a DHA Lahore plot, his wife Fariha declared in her 2017 tax returns that she received a gift of GBP 155,000 from her father, who is the father-in-law of Gen Shafaat. This gift was intended for the purchase of the London apartment, which she jointly owns with her son.

Contradictions and shifts in General Shafaat’s standpoint during the interview
During his interview with Fact Focus, General Shafaat initially asserted that he personally made the full payment for the London apartment to someone in Lahore, contradicting Fariha’s claim that she received gift money from her father.

However, when confronted with the information in his wife’s tax returns, which indicated that she received GBP 155,000 as a gift from her father, Brig (R) Liaqat Asrar Bokhari, for the purchase of the London apartment, he swiftly changed his statement, acknowledging, “This is also true.” He went on to explain, “My father-in-law, Brig Liaqat Asrar Bokhari, had a bank account in London for more than forty years.” It appeared that General Shafaat had forgotten his earlier assertion that the entire payment for the apartment was made in Lahore.
v- Who was the father-in-law of Gen Shafaat
Brigadier (Retired) Liaqat Israr Bokhari was Fariha’s father and Gen Shafaat’s father-in-law. He passed away in 2019. Official documents, including tax returns, confirm that the name of Liaqat Asrar Bokhari was inaccurately associated with this case. Brigadier Liaqat Bokhari had two sons and two daughters, with Fariha Shah being one of his daughters. Neither Fariha nor her father, Liaqat Bokhari, mentioned any giving or receiving of gifts in 2007 or subsequent years until the declarations made in 2017. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) may conduct an inquiry to ascertain the accurate sources of funds used to purchase this London apartment or to investigate whether any payments were made for the acquisition of the apartment at all.

vi- Why London property in wife’s name?
Gen Shafaat faced inquiries from the media regarding his decision to acquire the London apartment in his wife’s name. He was questioned about why he didn’t register the property in his own name, especially since his wife was a homewife with no separate sources of income. In response to these queries, Gen Shafaat explained that he purchased the London apartment in his wife’s name because she did not have any other properties registered in her name.

Nevertheless, the tax records for the year 2019 belonging to his wife, Fariha Shah, reveal that the General had gifted her a 1 kanal plot in Islamabad in 2006. This indicates that she did, in fact, own property registered in her name prior to the acquisition of the London apartment.


Fariha-2019-3.jpg
The relevant page of Wealth Statement of Fariha from her 2019 annual tax returns




It’s worth noting that Fariha Shah did not report the property in Islamabad in her tax returns prior to the 2019 tax year, despite its acquisition back in 2006.
Under 18 millionaire: Offspring of Pakistan Army Generals
Raza celebrated his 18th birthday in January 2010. He initiated his income tax return filings in Pakistan on July 10, 2014. However, he officially assumed the role of director in the offshore company on May 24, 2010, four months after his 18th birthday. In the company’s official documents, according to the ICIJ’s revelations, when taking on the role of director, Raza cited his source of income as ‘shareholder funds from past earnings.’ Fact Focus couldn’t ascertain the origins of his earnings during his minor years, leading to his millionaire status.

Details of assets of Gen Shafaat, Fariha Shah, and Raza Ullah Shah in Pakistan
Numerous properties were listed in the names of Shafaat, Fariha, and Raza in their official tax documents. In a recent declaration, they claim ownership of the following properties in Pakistan, with bank accounts and investments being separate from this.

Shafaat Ullah Shah:
1- 117, Sarwar, Colony, Lahore
2- 129, Defence Raya Golf & Country Club, DHA, Lahore
3- Plot No. 3-4A, Street G,Phase III, Sangar Housing Scheme, Gawadar
4- Plot no 414 block MB Phase 6C, DHA, Lahore
5- One Kanal Plot # 858Q Phase IX, DHA, Lahore
6- 392, Phase Z, DHA, Lahore

Fariha Shah:
1- Plot # 9P, A/000923, DHA, Lahore
2- 8 Marla Commercial plot # 90A, DHA, Lahore
3- 01 kanal land, village Dora Mori, Islamabad (Gifted by husband in 2006)
4- 1, TUFAIL ROAD, Lahore Cantt
5- plot, DHA Phase 6, LHR Cantt
6- Gawadar, Ind Area
7- 74, H Block, Phase-1, Commercial Area

Raza Ullah Shah:

1- 8 Marla Commercial Plot No 26 B, DHA, Commercial Broadway, Phase-VIII, Lahore

2- Commercial Plot – Plot No 25 B DHA, Commercial Broadway, Phase-VIII, Lahore
 
Last edited:
.
Was the property allotted by W&R Dte ?
 
. .
The reason for their corruption is what they will do after retirement. that later retirementis a major reason for their corruption and it is typically embedded in kashmiris, punjabis and urdu speaker middle class
 
. .
The reason for their corruption is what they will do after retirement. that later retirementis a major reason for their corruption and it is typically embedded in kashmiris, punjabis and urdu speaker middle class

So other ethnicities are devoid of base human instincts across the globe ?
 
.
We are talking about ethnicities that r in Pakistan. Baloch and Pashtuns r corrupt but not at the scale of Punjabis kashmiris and urdu speakers. they still have some rules. where law of the land doesnt work on them then Tribal rules fill the vacuum. Also the people of Gilgit Baltistan are the least corrupt. the most confused ethnicity in pakistan is Punjabi ( i m a punjabi jutt myself)
 
. .
the same Bajwa who was given extension by IK?
It's kinda like all was acceptable until one day PTI woke up. Nawazoo has been fighting the fauji setup since 1999, guy got his *** handed mutliple time.

I would not deny this but some generals are extremely corrupt especially those who retired during 2015 -2016 period. Not all but 10% ki corruption 90% officers mai equivalent hai
 
.
My only question here is - Is the money which was siphoned off from the 2010 flood aid?
So other ethnicities are devoid of base human instincts across the globe ?
No, we South Asians are by nature corrupt especially when we are in south asia! Some more some less. But, the PA jarnails are taking this to a new level.

Chinese are extremely corrupt too.
 
.
It's kinda like all was acceptable until one day PTI woke up. Nawazoo has been fighting the fauji setup since 1999, guy got his *** handed mutliple time.

I would not deny this but some generals are extremely corrupt especially those who retired during 2015 -2016 period. Not all but 10% ki corruption 90% officers mai equivalent hai
NS was the same
till the early 90s, Nawaz Sharif loved the bojh

and then suddenly he remembers "vote ko izzat do", and just as suddenly he has forgotten it again.
 
. .

Pakistan Defence Latest Posts

Country Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom