Tag: Mir Shakilur Rehman

  • Explainer: Who are the 700 Pakistanis in Pandora Papers?

    Explainer: Who are the 700 Pakistanis in Pandora Papers?

    More than 700 Pakistanis are in the data revealed in Pandora Papers and a majority of them are tax residents in Pakistan, reports Umar Cheema for The News.

    Key members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet, retired civilian and military officials and their families as well as owners of some of the country’s top media outlets, secretly own or have owned an array of companies and trusts holding millions of dollars in offshore jurisdictions, Fakhar Durrani reports for The News.

    Politicians in Pandora Papers

    The revelations made in the Pandora Papers, which contain the names of some prominent and key figures in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet, will be a test case for PM Khan to make his close associates answerable for holding offshore companies.

    Below is the list of a few of the many prominent politicians of the government and Opposition whose names are in the Pandora Papers.

    1. Shaukat Tarin:

    Shaukat Tarin was recently inducted into Khan’s cabinet and appointed Finance and Revenue Minister. Tarin and three of his family members have four offshore companies registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) jurisdiction. The Tarin family incorporated four offshore companies —Triperna Inc, Hamraa Inc, Seafex Inc, and Moonen Inc — all of them in 2014. 

    Tarin confirmed being part of the above companies directly or through his family members for the sole purpose of raising capital for his bank. 

     “We were in negotiations with a Middle East conglomerate for raising capital for my bank, through a structured transaction. The proposed investor had also taken the Central Bank’s in-principle approval for the investment.” He added that the companies remained dysfunctional and no business was carried out through them.

    2. Faisal Vawda:

    Former minister for water resources, Faisal Vawda, his wife, and his sister have an offshore company. The Vawda family incorporated Dazzling Worldwide Ltd in the BVI jurisdiction in 2012 to invest in UK properties, the Pandora Papers show.

    Vawda told the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) that he has declared all the worldwide assets held in his name to the Pakistani tax authorities.

    3. Abdul Aleem Khan:

    Another close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Abdul Aleem Khan also owns an offshore company. The Pandora Papers show that the registered directors of Hexam Investment Overseas Limited (BVI) — Aleem Khan and his wife — approved a written resolution of the offshore company on March 1, 2017, and confirmed being directors of Hexam Investment.

    National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also initiated an investigation against Aleem Khan. It is, however, not confirmed whether he has declared the company in his tax returns or not.

    Aleem Khan is now the owner of Samaa News.

    4: Chaudhry Moonis Elahi:

     Federal Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi was the Settlor and Investment Director of the Green Hills Trust and Winthrop Fund.

    Moonis wanted to invest money from the 2007 sale of land owned by Phalia Sugar Mills, an Elahi family business. Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions carried out due diligence of Moonis Elahi and produced a 19-page report with the details of his alleged involvement in corrupt land projects. The report mentioned fraudulent loans from the bank and selling the land to a government department. However, despite this due diligence report, Moonis was accepted as Asiaciti’s client.

    The family spokesperson of Chaudhrys said that the assets of the family, including Chaudry Pervaiz Elahi and Chaudry Moonis Elahi, are declared as per applicable law.

    5. Ali Dar:

    The Pandora Papers reveal that former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s son, Ali Dar, owns two companies — Baraq Holdings Ltd and Dar Al Nahyan Ltd — registered in the British Virgin Islands.

    Dar in his reply to The News said Dar Al Nahyan Limited remained dormant and no business has been done in the company, which has now been struck off the register. He said he has never been a tax resident in Pakistan and nor has he ever been involved in any professional employment or business activities whatsoever in Pakistan.

    6. Sharjeel Inam Memon:

    Former information minister in the Sindh government Sharjeel Inam Memon also owned three offshore companies in the BVI jurisdiction. The three companies that are owned by the Memon family include Ocean Wave Technologies Corp, Arctic Development Corp., and New Coast Executive Inc.

    The companies are involved in the real estate business. The former provincial minister while talking to The News neither denied nor confirmed the companies’ ownership.

    Media owners included in Pandora Papers

    The Pandora Papers have brought forth some media owners’ names who have offshore companies in offshore jurisdictions.

    1. Hameed Haroon:

    Hameed Haroon — CEO of Dawn media group — owns an offshore company Bardney Limited, registered in Seychelles.

    In his official response to The News, Haroon said the company is duly declared and is being reported to the relevant authorities in Pakistan in accordance with the applicable laws of the land.

    2. Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman:

    Jang Group’s Publisher Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman (MSR) owns an offshore company Brookwood Ventures Limited in the BVI jurisdiction. Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman was transferred the shares of the company on April 17, 2008. 

    Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, responding to the investigation cell, said, “No, it’s not true, I don’t own any company. However, I had this till 2018.” The News also asked him that the British Virgin Islands is a tax and secrecy haven. Why he opted to set up a company there. MSR replied that people invest in BVI as it offers attractive conditions for investment. MSR was also asked if he declared the company with the relevant tax authorities to which he said, “Yes, it was part of my wealth for the tax year 2018 and subject to taxes where applicable.”

    3. Sultan Ali Lakhani:

     Express Media Group Sultan Ali Lakhani also owns an offshore company Century Media Network Inc. The company was incorporated in February 2005.

    The spokesperson of the Lakhani family said all companies are legal and as per law of the land wherever applicable.

    4. Gourmet Group:

    Pandora Papers reveal that an employee of Gourmet group named Amna Butt was appointed director of an offshore company, Gourmet Holdings Limited in the BVI jurisdiction. The Gourmet group owns a large chain of bakeries across Punjab. In addition, the group owns a news channel called Gourmet News Network (GNN) as well.

    It is, however, not confirmed whether the company is declared with the Pakistani tax authorities or not. Amna Butt was sent a questionnaire by The News, but no response has been received from her.

    Military officials and family included in Pandora Papers

    Apart from the politicians, media owners, and civilian bureaucrats, some top retired military officials have also been named in the new leaks.

    1. Major General (retd) Nusrat Naeem:

    Major General (retd) Nusrat Naeem owned a BVI company, Afghan Oil & Gas Ltd that was registered in 2009, shortly after his retirement. In his response to the ICIJ, he said that the company had been set up by a friend and that he did not use it for any financial transactions.

    2. Ahsan Latif:

    Ahsan Latif — son-in-law of former Governor Punjab Lt General (retd) Khalid Maqbool — owned an offshore company, Dylan Capital Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands.

    It is not clear whether Ahsan Latif has declared the above-mentioned assets before the tax authorities in Pakistan. The News sent a query to him but received no response from him

    3. Muhammad Hasan Muzaffar:

    Pandora Papers reveal that Muhammad Hasan Muzaffar, son of Lt General (retd) Muhammad Afzal Muzaffar, owned shares in a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, Creek Growth Capital Holding Ltd. The offshore company owned Southeast Healthcare Holding, which in turn controlled a Dubai-based medical centre that now appears to be closed.

    Hasan told ICIJ that the simple fact is there is no relation of this investment to his father. He further commented that the investment was made solely from his own income earned in the UAE and came from his UAE bank account. No other family member, including his father, was involved.

    4. Shafatullah Shah:

    The former military secretary of Gen Pervez Musharraf, Lt Gen (retd) Shafatullah Shah owns an expensive apartment in London through an offshore company, which is in the names of his wife and son. 

    5. Raja Nadir Pervez:

     Pandora Papers also reveal that Raja Nadir Pervez, a retired army lieutenant colonel and former minister in the Nawaz Sharif-led government, owned International Finance & Equipment Ltd, a BVI-registered company. In the leaked files, the firm is involved in machinery and related businesses in India, Thailand, Russia, and China. 

     He is currently a member of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Raja Nadir Pervez did not respond to ICIJ reporters’ questions.

    Businessmen and civil bureaucrats included in Pandora Papers

    1. Yawar Salman:

    Son of bureaucrat Salman Siddique, Yawar Salman along with another partner Noeen Ahmed Anwar registered an offshore company, just a little before the former’s father’s retirement. The company is called Cres Tech Holdings Limited in the BVI.

    Yawar Salman told The News that the entity Cres Tech Holdings was incorporated as part of a then-envisaged plan to undertake a foreign business. However, owing to certain circumstances, neither any equity was contributed nor any bank account opened. Since no equity was ever contributed and the entity’s worth remains ‘nil’, the question of disclosing it to the tax authorities does not arise.

    2. Javed Afridi:

    The Pandora Papers have also revealed that the owner of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, Peshawar Zalmi, and renowned industrialist Javed Afridi owns three offshore companies in the BVI jurisdiction. Afridi is the beneficial owner of Old Trafford Properties Ltd, Sutton Gas Works Properties Ltd, and Gas Works Property Ltd.

    Javed Afridi in his response confirmed to The News ownership of three offshore companies. He said the reason to incorporate them was for the good intention to save tax rather than avoiding any tax. According to him, the companies were almost dormant, and no business or investment was done by any of the companies.

    Pandora Papers

    The papers are named after the Greek myth of Pandora’s box. In the tale, Pandora opens a sealed box containing the forces of evil and suffering which, once released, were uncontainable.

    BBC quoted Gerard Ryle, the director of ICIJ, as saying this leak was given the name because “we’re opening a box on a lot of things”.

    This information revealed above has been named Pandora Papers and it adds significantly to what was discovered in the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers.

    The Pandora Papers have unmasked the fortunes of more than 330 public officials in 90 countries. Included among them are 35 current and former leaders of different countries. The King of Jordan, the rulers of Qatar and Dubai, presidents of the Ukraine, Kenya, and Ecuador, the prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Lebanon, and former British prime minister Tony Blair, all appear in the secret files.

    For Pakistan, the files pose a big test to the accountability credentials of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had found the Panama Papers a “God-sent” opportunity to burnish his credentials as an anti-corruption warrior.

    The documents were leaked to the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) which for nearly two years led an investigation collaborating with more than 600 journalists in 117 countries. This is the biggest journalism partnership in history, which involved 150 media organisations. For the Panama Papers, almost 400 journalists from 80 countries participated in the investigation. The News was the only ICIJ partner from Pakistan on both occasions. The Pandora Papers comprise 11.9 million documents whereas the Panama Papers had 11.5 million, reports The News.

  • NAB to host hi-tea for all its prisoners on Eid

    NAB to host hi-tea for all its prisoners on Eid

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will give “relief” to its prisoners by offering hi-tea on Eid day, a statement issued by the anti-graft watchdog has revealed.

    “Keeping its past tradition alive, the bureau has arranged hi-tea for all detained suspects and they will also be presented bouquets on Eid day,” a NAB spokesperson said Wednesday.

    The bureau said it had decided to present bouquets to all its suspects detained at Kot Lakhpat and Camp jails on judicial remand. It said the bureau was doing so out of a goodwill gesture.

    Opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz, Jang/Geo Media Group editor-in-chief Mir Shakilur Rehman and Lahore Development Authority (LDA) former director general Ahad Cheema are among the prominent NAB suspects on judicial remand.

    Meanwhile, a report in a local English daily has claimed that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suspects a serious foul play behind sudden appearance and circulation of a fake draft purported as a government bill that undermined its efforts to fix anomalies in the accountability regime.

    The report quoted a member of the cabinet as saying that the issue of NAB amendments had been pushed to the back burner yet again and now the government would see after Eid what could be done. The PTI government had recently decided to consult all stakeholders, including the opposition parties, to amend NAB law either through an ordinance or if possible by convening a session of parliament to carry out the required legislation.

  • Imran govt says it has nothing to do with Geo owner’s arrest, taking channel off the air

    Imran govt says it has nothing to do with Geo owner’s arrest, taking channel off the air

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has said the government should not be linked with the action taken by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with regard to the arrest of Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman, or Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (PEMRA) reported action against the media outlet.

    With the media outlet waging war on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, alleging that the “fake case” against its editor-in-chief was rooted in Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s “personal vendetta against Geo and its owner”, and that the developments from earlier this week had “exposed the unholy alliance between the government and NAB”, the mouthpiece of the government has clarified the situation.

    “The government had nothing to do with the matter while the NAB was an independent body and unnecessary propaganda was being made against the government,” Dr Firdous said Friday, emphasising that the PTI government believed in freedom of media and actions taken by the anti-graft body or the media watchdog should not be viewed as otherwise.

    Dr Firdous contended that none was a “sacred cow” and it was unfair to target the government for this, while PM Imran had waged a struggle for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution for the last 22 years. She said some people were treating the law as their personal commodity and added that the government had to present its position, as she alleged a “one-sided picture” was being painted by the media house.

    “We came to know about his [Rehman] arrest through media,” the SAPM said, adding that a person belonging to the media fraternity had filed a complaint against another individual while the government had nothing to do with it. The government, she said, believed strongly in media freedom and was geared up to remove any hurdle in its way.

    Dr Firdous was of the view that Geo should also present the government’s point of view as well as of NAB and reiterated that the government was not a party in this case.

    She said that the government considered media as its partner and hailed Jang/Geo Group’s independent editorial policies. Praising the group’s unbiased analyses on the government’s policies, she said, “We take guidance from them.”

    Defending the government, she said that Jang and Geo Media Group was a media organisation and how could the government lock its horns with it, saying the Group was not the government’s political rival.

    “Dispel this perception! You are a media house, what enmity could the government have with you. You are not a political entity. You are not our political enemy. You are an independent media house and we understand that remaining that way is your strength,” she noted.

    Asked about Imran Khan’s repeated statements: ‘Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, I shall see you’ and was not the Thursday’s action with reference to this, she said that those had been made when he (MSR) had come out of the apex court and said that journalism was not his only business: it was just one part.

    She said, “We are looking at him from two angles: as the head of a media organisation and as a businessman. This case has been made not because he is the owner of a media house but because he is a businessman. The issue is that of the allotment of 54 plots from the then chief minister.” “NAB provided questionnaires in this regard to which he was unable to respond and based on which he was arrested. The Group should not associate such actions with the government. They should not show just one side of the picture,” she emphasised.

    Dr Firdous contended that it was unfair to term his arrest a part of revenge tactics by the government for his media house’s stance and said to call this revenge or to say this was carried out according to the government’s wishes was unfair and unjust and that every person had the right to prove his innocence in the face of allegations levelled against him.

    “Allegations are made every day and politicians, bureaucrats and others also face cases, but after these allegations are made, evidence is produced in the court, and both sides are given the chance to present evidence supporting their stance and then announces a just decision on the basis of facts,” she said.

    She emphasised that truth would prevail in this case, and added that Prime Minister Imran Khan had worked hard towards strengthening institutions and making them independent, which were previously in a bad shape.

    Dr Firdous claimed that under the prime minister’s governance, institutions were working freely. However, after the arrest, to continuously say the government had killed press freedom and to connect these two things, and to use a watchdog to push an agenda against the government goes against the principles of journalism.

    “We expect NAB to present evidence in the court on the basis of which it arrested MSR so that this move can be justified in the eyes of the law and the Constitution. In the same way, we expect him and the analysts and journalists from his media house to submit evidence to the court attesting to his innocence instead of attacking the government and becoming themselves a court,” she said.

    She contended the courts were free and independent and then asked did the rest of the people arrested by NAB had the right to have discussions on media channels this way or have debates about the case, and pressurise investigation officers.

  • Cable operators directed to shut down Geo TV

    Cable operators directed to shut down Geo TV

    Soon after Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan’s press conference on the arrest of Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman, cable operators started receiving directions to shut down Geo TV’s broadcast or shift the channel to last numbers, the private media outlet has reported.

    The channel was shifted to last numbers in various cities and its broadcast was also disrupted after Dr Firdous’ presser. Geo’s News Director Rana Jawad said that the directives to cable operators had come from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). 

    “Cable operators are being asked to change Geo’s position [on TV channel numbers]. Shifting the channel to the last numbers means shutting down its broadcast,” he said.

    Jawad said these instructions were also given to the main cable operator in Islamabad and that no legal basis was provided for the action. He said that PEMRA was threatening to take legal actions against cable operators who did not comply with the instructions. 

    He said that Geo tried to contact PEMRA chairman for clarification on the matter but he could not be reached. Jawad added that a cable operator in Islamabad had shifted Geo from number 7 to 71 and that cable operators in other cities were following suit. 

    “This is being done at a time when the editor-in-chief of the Jang/Geo Group has been arrested by NAB,” he said. “This [censorship] is a manifestation of the conspiracy to shut down, silence and end media,” he added.

  • First picture of Mir Shakilur Rehman in jail emerges

    First picture of Mir Shakilur Rehman in jail emerges

    The first picture of media mogul and philanthropist Mir Shakilur Rehman in jail emerged on Friday — a day after the National Accountability Bureau arrested him from Lahore in a case pertaining to the purchase of a 54-kanal piece of land.

    The picture showed the Jang/Geo Group owner behind bars at what appeared to be the Lahore office of the anti-graft watchdog.

    Rehman had on Thursday appeared before NAB for the second time to answer the bureau’s questions about the land in question. He was subsequently arrested after failing to satisfy officials with his answer.

    According to NAB, former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had illegally leased the land to Rehman in 1986.

    NAB will produce Rehman in front of an accountability court today for his physical remand.

    According to the notice issued on February 28, Rehman had been called to appear before NAB on March 5 to record his statement regarding the land allotted to him in 1986 in Block H, Johar Town Phase 2 “by then Punjab chief minister (CM) Mian Nawaz Sharif in violation of the relevant laws and rules”.

    According to an official statement issued by the Jang Group, the property “was bought from a private party 34 years ago and all evidence of this was given to NAB”.

    The statement maintained that today’s appearance was for the verification of the complaint, yet Rehman was arrested. It also accused the anti-graft watchdog of harbouring a vendetta against the publication.

    “During the past 18 months, NAB has sent our reporters, producers, and editors […] over a dozen notices threatening to shut down our channels […] due to our reporting, and programmes about the anti-corrupton watchdog.”

    “NAB has also, through several means, tried to persuade us to go slow, to stop stories and to do others in its favor at the expense of the full truth.

    “We will not stop any reporter, producer or anchor from any story that is on merit, and at the same time will include NAB’s version,” the statement read, adding that the bureau has denied all the allegations and claimed they are independently pursuing all cases.

    On March 5, The News had reported that Rehman had appeared before the anti-corruption watchdog and had informed the bureau that he had purchased the land from a private owner and that he possessed evidence of the same.

    Rehman had said that he was hopeful that the watchdog and the courts would decide the case fairly.

    Speaking to the media outside, he had said that similar accusations had been levelled against him in the past as well but had been proven to be false.

  • ‘Oh my God!’: Maryam reacts to Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest during media talk

    ‘Oh my God!’: Maryam reacts to Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest during media talk

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who on Thursday made her maiden media appearance since being released in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case in November 2019, was in a viral video seen expressing her shock upon hearing the news of media mogul Mir Shakilur Rehman’s arrest.

    Rehman, earlier in the day, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore in a case pertaining to the purchase of a 54-kanal land. He is accused of leasing the said land from former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif in Lahore in 1986, which he was not eligible for.

    “Oh my God!” Maryam was seen exclaiming during the media talk as a reporter informed her of Jang/Geo Group owner’s arrest by NAB.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The anti-graft watchdog will produce Rehman in front of an accountability court on Friday for his physical remand, NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali has said.

    Earlier, daughter of former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif said she could not be threatened or intimidated in backing off from her narrative.

    “I remained silent due to some personal reasons and my resolve against this [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] government has further strengthened and I cannot be threatened,” she said while speaking to journalists in Islamabad, flanked by senior party leaders including PML-N senior vice president Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

    Maryam’s four-month silence had intensified the speculation that it was part of a “deal” that the main opposition party had reached with the “power that be”. Subsequently, her father was also allowed to travel to London for the treatment under the same understanding.

    “I was silent and there could be too many reasons,” she told reporters. “But will you show me if I speak today,” she asked.

    The PML-N leader said that media was under restrictions and there was a ban on her appearance. “Media is in chains and I have sympathy for you,” she said, adding that she was bound to follow the party discipline. “However, I will play my role in politics whenever my party asks me to do so.”

  • Suhail Warraich says PM Imran has ‘invited wrath of God’ by arresting Jang/Geo owner

    Suhail Warraich says PM Imran has ‘invited wrath of God’ by arresting Jang/Geo owner

    Moments after Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), a senior journalist affiliated with the media house, Suhail Warraich, has called out Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan for “crossing all limits and inviting the wrath of God”.

    “Imran Khan [has] crossed all limits by arresting MSR [Mir Shakilur Rehman] thus inviting wrath of God Almighty,” Warraich said in a tweet.

    Earlier in the day, media mogul, philanthropist and Jang/Geo Group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman was arrested by NAB Lahore in what sources said was a case pertaining to the purchase of a 54-kanal land.

    Rehman is accused of leasing the said land from former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif in Lahore in 1986, which he was not eligible for.

    The anti-graft watchdog will produce Rehman in front of an accountability court on Friday for his physical remand, NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali has said.