Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau has arrested former foreign minister and high-ranking opposition leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif in an ongoing probe into allegations of possessing assets higher than his known sources of income. Deutsche Welle reports citing the Pakistani newspaper Dawn and a Bureau spokesman.
Before Asif took government office in 1991, his total assets were over $ 30,000, but in 2018 they rose to nearly $ 1.4 million. However, local media noted the figure was not justifiable with his known sources of income.
Pakistani authorities also said that Asif had claimed earnings from a job in a UAE firm, but the investigation found that the official was in Pakistan during this period and used his overseas employment documents only to declare fake sources of income.
Asif is known for criticizing incumbent Prime Minister Imran Khan and is one of the top leaders of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League.
Nawaz Sharif, party president and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, who is also accused of corruption and is considered to have fled justice to London, criticized Asif’s arrest.
