‘Haven’t fled, will return to Pakistan soon’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, under investigation for money laundering and alleged corruption, has rejected reports of him fleeing abroad and said that he is in the US to meet his daughters and will return soon.
Calling media reports about him fleeing as “baseless”, the Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz leader said the purpose of his trip to the US was to meet his daughters, not to escape from the country, Geo News reported on Saturday.
“I am in the US at the moment visiting my daughters and will return soon,” he said.
Asif’s family is already in the US, whom he joined two weeks ago. Soon after his departure, reports said that the reason behind him leaving was to escape a probable arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The former Foreign Minister is under investigation for money laundering and alleged corruption in the Nandipur power project.
Pakistan is planning to ease visa restrictions for visitors from 55 countries, including most European nations, in a bid to revive tourism that was devastated by Islamist violence in the fallout from the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
“We are reviewing our visa policies. We are trying to bring 55 countries into a visa-free region, which includes most of the European countries,” said Pakistan’s information minister, Fawad Chaudhry.
That comes after Portugal this month declared Pakistan safe for travel, while France has also relaxed its advisory on travel to the South Asian nation
“I’m happy our (travel) advisories are changing,” said Chaudhry.
Potentially restarting tourism has been one of