New Delhi: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan owns assets worth over Rs 108 million, including four goats that are valued at Rs 2 lakh. Buthe doesn’t own a car, and his wife, Bushra Bibi, does not even possess any gold or silver jewellery. A statement of assets and liabilities released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) earlier this week reveals there are 10 billionaire MPs in the country’s Parliament.
Leading the list is Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) legislator Ihsan Bajwa with total assets worth more than Rs 3 billion, excluding liabilities of Rs 1.18 billion in the UAE.
In the list of billionaire politicians are also PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi, and Pakistan Peoples Party President Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The details of assets owned by incumbent parliamentarians are for the last financial year (2018-19).
This list showed that jewellery, cars and other luxury items are not popular investments among the Pakistani political elite. Like Imran Khan, many others do not own vehicles and prefer to invest their money in real estate.
Almost all of them own millions worth of agricultural and commercial land in Pakistan, and have invested in buildings and flats in the Middle East and UK. Many have stored money away in foreign bank accounts as well.
Here is a list of prominent politicians and their declared assets.
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Ihsan Bajwa
Bajwa tops the list with total assets equalling Rs 3 billion. Despite Rs 1.18 billion worth of liabilities in Dubai, he owns business capital of 5.6 million dirhams, nine houses and a building there. In Pakistan, he owns agricultural land worth Rs 249.5 million and commercial and residential properties valued at Rs 29.5 million.
This February, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had initiated a probe against him and his family for disproportionate possession of wealth.
Imran Khan
PM Khan owns 14 properties across Pakistan and has four foreign currency accounts. His wife Bushra owns a house in the posh Bani Gala area and two plots of land. She has declared that she owns no jewellery.
Shehbaz Sharif
Shehbaz Sharif, who is the brother of former PM Nawaz Sharif and also the president of PML-N party, possesses declared assets worth Rs 670 million. This includes Rs 146.8 million invested abroad and properties worth Rs. 14.7 million in Pakistan. He has two properties in London and a bank account there.
His first wife, Nusrat Shebaz, has declared assets worth Rs 189 million. She and her daughters were served notices by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) earlier this year for possession of assets beyond known source of income.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Son of former PM Benazir Bhutto and chief of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Zardari is the most prominent billionaire parliamentarian in the country with assets exceeding Rs 1.54 billion. He has inherited 10 sets of jewellery and seven watches from his mother along with a flat.
He used the money that he had inherited to extend loans of over Rs 1.24 billion to four companies in Dubai and the UK. With extensive real estate investments in UAE, he has also declared a Dubai Iqama, or residential visa, as part of his assets.
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Asif Ali Zardari
By comparison, Bilal Bhutto’s father Asif Ali Zardari’s declared assets are worth around Rs 660 million. He claimed to have no properties abroad but has a Dubai Iqama like his son. Besides, he also possesses weapons worth Rs 16.6 million and horses worth Rs 10 million.
Pervez Khattak
Pakistan’s defence minister and leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Khattak has declared assets worth about Rs 139 million along with a bank balance of Rs 25 million.
Sheikh Rasheed
Railways minister and the current leader of Awami Muslim League party has claimed net assets worth Rs 35.8 million. He has also declared a bank balance of Rs 87.3 million and prize bonds worth Rs 2.5 million
Omer Ayub Khan
Former President Ayub Khan’s son, Omer Ayub is the current power minister of the nation. He has declared assets worth Rs 1 billion, making him one of the top ten richest Pakistani law makers.
Other uber-rich legislators of the country include PML-N leaders Rana Sanaullah and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, with declared assets worth Rs 66 million and Rs 600 million respectively.
Of the 10 billionaires in Parliament, the ruling PTI has four – Arbab Umar Amir Ayub, Najib Haroon, Mohammad Yaqoob Sheikh and Omar Ayub Khan. Noorul Hasan Tanveer belongs to PML-N, Moonis Elahi and brother Chaudhry Salik Hussain belong to PML-Q. Only Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari belongs to PPP and Amir Haider Azam Khan Hoti belongs to the Awami National Party.
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