Leakers of Bajwa family tax details identified: Dar

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has stated that the officials, who leaked to a website the tax details of army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, have been identified and would be punished accordingly for this illegality.

He told a TV channel that he has received an interim report about the investigations he had ordered into the leak.

Dar said that leaking the army chief’s income tax returns was illegal. “I have seen the interim report. I hope to receive the final report today,” he said.

He added that the government had found some people behind the leak and the issue would reach its logical conclusion.

Dar said that one person involved in the leak was from Lahore and the other from Rawalpindi. However, he added that there was a possibility that some of the individuals involved may have authority to look at the income tax records as there is a circle in Rawalpindi where assessments take place. “These people are authorised to access data for their assessment.”

When Gen Bajwa is retiring ater serving as the army chief for six years, a website run by a Pakistani journalist, who is based in the United States, has done a detailed story on the tax details of the general and his family members. The story also gave information about the properties and businesses held by the family in Pakistan and abroad. This came as a major bombshell for all and sundry.

In an unrelated development, an accountability court in Islamabad has ended the trial against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in an asset beyond means case and sent back a reference against him to the National Accountability Bureau, saying that ater the amended NAB Act, this court is not authorised to hear this case.

ATC Judge Muhammad Bashir announced the reserved verdict. He said that ater the amended NAB Act, the case did not come under the jurisdiction of the accountability court.

“The case does not come under our jurisdiction anymore. We are not NAB, nor can we give a decision in favour of the accused. The court ends trial against Ishaq Dar forthwith,” the judge ruled.