Pakistanis in Dubai

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Properties owned

As in 2024

Omer Farooq Khan TNN, May 16, 2024: The Times of India

Islamabad : Prominent Pakistani politicians, retired generals, bureaucrats, bankers and money launderers have been named in the latest property leaks containing details of individuals who own residential properties in upscale areas of Dubai. The combined value of these properties is $11 billion.


“Dubai Unlocked”, an investigative project by over 70 media outlets around the globe, has revealed ownership of hundreds of properties of prominent global figures in Dubai. The data covers records of properties from 2020 till 2022.


Among an estimated 17,000 Pakistanis listed in the leaks owning 23,000 properties in Dubai are President Asif Ali Zardari’s three children, two of whom are members of the National Assembly, former PM Nawaz Sharif’s son Hussain Nawaz, home (interior) minister Mohsin Naqvi’s wife, and several national and provincial lawmakers. While Zardari’s elder daughter, Bakhtawar BhuttoZardari, is a Dubai resident, his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and daughter, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, were listed as owners of four properties. Through her lawyers, Aseefa said that all assets owned by her in Dubai have been duly declared to the relevant authorities in Pakistan, including the electoral watchdog.


The Pakistani list also features the late former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, former PM Shaukat Aziz, ex-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa’s son, and more than a dozen retired army generals as well as a police chief, an ambassador and a scientist, all of whom owned properties either directly or through their spouses and children.


The Altaf Khanani network, which was sanctioned by the US for involvement in money laundering, has also surfaced in the leaks. Moving illicit funds for organised crime groups, including drug cartels and violent terrorist organisations, the network raked in an estimated turnover of between $14 billion and $16 billion annually. Altaf Khanani, the international face of the organisation, was ultimately convicted and spent nearly six years in a US prison; he was blacklisted by the US on money-laundering charges along with his son, Obaid Khanani, and nephew, Hozaifa Khanani. 
Notably, several Pakistani families involved in politics and business were absent from the data, despite it being well known that they have bases and family residences in Dubai.