Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday took notice of the “illegal and unwarranted” leakage of tax information of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s family members.
An official statement from the Finance Division states, “This is clearly a violation of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the law provides.”
This statement comes a day after a report by investigative news website FactFocus, which cited alleged tax returns and wealth statements, claimed that the COAS’ family had amassed billions of rupees in the last six years.
“In view of this serious lapse on the part of to-date unknown functionaries, the finance minister has directed the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Revenue, Tariq Mehmood Pasha, to personally lead an immediate investigation into the violation of tax law[s] and breach of Federal Board of Revnue (FBR) data, affix responsibility and submit a report within 24 hours,” the handout said.
According to the FactFocus report, the current market value of the known assets and businesses of the army chief, both within and outside Pakistan, amounted to Rs12.7 billion.
The report also shared the alleged wealth statements of Gen Bajwa and his family from 2013 to 2021.
According to the publication, it was unable to obtain data about assets in the name of Gen Bajwa’s two sons.
FactFocus has claimed that after the publication of the story, the traffic on its site was “disrupted” and the website had been “banned”.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has sent a notice to Master Tiles Director Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal, asking him to explain the source of income after he spent millions on a lavish wedding ceremony.
The notice was served by Gujranwala’s chief commissioner of Inland Revenue with regard to extravagant expenditure made on the marriage ceremony of the daughter of Master Tiles director and the son of the owner of a superstore chain, Jalal sons.
A notice, under section 176 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, has been issued to the above in order to ascertain withholding tax and legal action will be taken accordingly, reported Pakistan Today.
At the wedding, Rose Blanca Club Lahore provided catering, KSC Concept were the event planners, Irfan Ahsan provided photography, while Rahat Fateh Ali Khan provided the entertainment. The wedding had been trending on social media the past week for being grand and extravagant.
The four-day festivities, which were attended by several celebrities and notable personalities, culminated in a one-of-a-kind valima which featured performances by Turkish gymnasts.
Several notable personalities including celebrities and politicians were spotted at the wedding. Among those present on the baraat were Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Information Dr Firdous Aashiq Awan and Maulana Tariq Jameel.
Maulana Tariq also conducted the nikkah ceremony of the bride and groom.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden cast doubt during Tuesday night’s debate on whether United States (US) President Donald Trump would ever release his tax returns.
“You’ll get to see it,” Trump said repeatedly as moderator Chris Wallace pressed him to commit to a firm timeline. Biden retorted, “When? InshaAllah?”
While the Arabic language phrase literally means “God Willing,” it also has colloquial connotations of ambiguous commitment.
As Muslims, especially Arabs, pointed out the phrase used by Biden, many wondered if they had mistaken something for InshaAllah.
Until journalist Asma Khalid of US-based National Public Radio (NPR), who is covering the 2020 presidential campaign, confirmed it.
Biden earlier released his personal income taxes, which show the former vice president and his wife Jill Biden paid about 30% of their $985,000 gross personal income.
Trump has refused to voluntarily release his income taxes, which had been a presidential custom stretching back decades.
READ MORE: ‘Will you shut up, man?’ and much more from Trump vs Biden presidential debate
The New York Times reported Monday that Trump did not pay any federal income taxes in 10 of the last 15 years. It said the former businessman paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and another $750 in 2017, the year he took office.
Trump disputed the report during Tuesday night’s debate, saying he has “paid millions of dollars in taxes, millions of dollars of income tax.”