‘Nothing new or illegal in Dubai report’ —Pakistani politicians named in Dubai property data defend ownership, downplay report

Some of the Pakistani officials identified in the data have played down the development, arguing that there was nothing wrong with the practice and that assets under their names had already been declared, following the revelation of an astonishing amount of data about homes owned by foreigners in Dubai.

The information, which was mostly from 2020 and 2022, gives a thorough picture of hundreds of thousands of properties in Dubai as well as details about who owns them or how they are used. The data was disclosed on Tuesday. The Centre for Advanced Defence Studies (C4ADS), a non-profit organisation that studies international crime and conflict with its headquarters in Washington, D.C., acquired it.

Prominent names include PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, his siblings Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto Zardari; wife of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Ms Ashraf; Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon; MNA Ikhtiar Baig; son of PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, Hussain Nawaz; son of General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Saad Siddique Bajwa; Senator Faisal Vawda (spelt in the data as Fesal), Sardar Sanaullah Zehri, Akhtar Mengal and PML-N MNA Ehsanul Haq Bajwa.