As Pakistan struggles with bankruptcy and its people long for staples like wheat and lentils, the nation’s 17,000 billionaires have bought 23,000 residences in Dubai. Together, the wealth of this group of politicians is estimated to be around 11 billion dollars. The ‘Dubai Unlocked’ report has uncovered shocking facts regarding foreigners’ property ownership in Dubai. The report mentions politicians, people and organizations facing US sanction, and individuals with criminal records.
The data were obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), a non-profit organization based in the United States that studies international crime and conflict. The information was shared with Norwegian financial outlet E24 and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which oversaw an investigation involving media outlets from around the world. The collaboration, titled ‘Dubai Unlocked’, involves 74 partners from 58 countries.
Villa in Dubai, revelations shake Pakistan! See, the biggest revelation about poor Pakistan#Pakistan #PakistanNews | @priyasi90 pic.twitter.com/F2g32fKWjI — Zee News (@ZeeNews) May 15, 2024
The report reveals that 29,700 Indians own 35,000 residential properties in Dubai, making them the country’s top buyers of real estate. With 17,000 Pakistanis having purchased 23,000 residential properties, Pakistan comes in second. Saudi Arabian and British nationals are ranked third and fourth, respectively.
Pakistan’s Elites Named In Dubai Leaks
The report provides information on hundreds of thousands of properties and their owners in Dubai from 2020 to 2022. Among the Pakistanis, the list includes the three children of President Asif Ali Zardari, Hussain Nawaz Sharif, the wife of Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi, four MPs. , and more than six legislators from the provincial assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan.
The report also includes former Pakistani Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf, former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and over a dozen retired army generals, along with a police chief, an ambassador, and a scientist. These individuals either purchased property directly in their name or in the name of their children and wives.
Dawn reported that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari declared these two properties in his statement of assets and liabilities submitted to the ECP. Hussain Nawaz, the son of former premier and PML-N president Nawaz Sharif, is among the listed owners in the leaks.
The report reveals that President Asif Ali Zardari received foreign property as a gift in 2014. From 2020 to 2022, the report offers details on hundreds of thousands of properties in Dubai, as well as their owners. The list of Pakistanis comprises Hussain Nawaz Sharif, the wife of Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi, three of President Asif Ali Zardari’s children, four Members of Parliament, and over six lawmakers from Sindh and Balochistan’s provincial assemblies.
Together with former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and over a dozen retired army generals, the report also features a scientist, an ambassador, a police chief, and a former chief of staff of the Pakistani Army, Pervez Musharraf. These people bought real estate either directly or through the names of their spouses and kids.
Pakistan President Received Foreign Properties As Gifts
According to the report, President Asif Ali Zardari received a foreign properties as a gift in 2014.However, when he declared it in 2018, it had already been gifted to someone else. Aslam Masood, the CFO of Pakistan’s Omni Group, and his wife own several properties. The list also includes Hamid Mukhtar Shah, a Rawalpindi doctor who was sanctioned by the United States for allegedly kidnapping, detaining, and running a kidney transplant racket on labourers’ in the country. The Altaf Khanani Network, which was sanctioned by the US for involvement in money laundering also features on the list.
Pakistan’s Home Minister Owns Villa Worth Crores
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s wife owns a property in Dubai, which he did not declare on his election nomination papers. Naqvi’s wife has a five-bedroom villa in Arabian Ranches. This villa was purchased in 2017 for around 330 million rupees. It has now generated 45 million rupees in rent. In 2023, it was sold for 344 million rupees. In response to the media, he stated that he bought another property in Dubai in January of this year, while Naqvi was Punjab’s Home Minister.
