ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has written a letter to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) deputy secretary Usman Dar, asking him to provide evidence regarding allegations of money laundering he has levelled against Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif.

Dr Dar has lodged a complaint with the bureau against Mr Asif, accusing of being involved in money laundering and other financial wrongdoings.

In the letter sent by the NAB’s Rawalpindi region on March 15 the PTI leader had been asked to visit the NAB office on Tuesday to answer some question regarding his allegations on the minister.

The NAB’s letter to Mr Dar said: “Your complaint received in this office was thoroughly scrutinised and details noted. To clarify certain elements, it will be appreciated if you could pay a visit to Nasir Raza, deputy director/investigation officer, on 20-3-18 at 10am to resolve certain queries.”

According to the letter, NAB has asked the PTI leader to come up with relevant documents/evidence to support his allegations.

“Please bring a signed affidavit (specimen attached with this letter) on a Rs20 stamp paper, otherwise your complaint will not be entertained,” the letter said.

When contacted, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry confirmed that Mr Dar had received the NAB’s letter and that he would visit to the bureau’s Rawalpindi office on Tuesday to provide it all documents/evidence available with him.

He said the PTI deputy secretary had filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), but the relevant bench of the court was dissolved before announcing a decision.

Mr PTI spokesperson claimed that Mr Asif received salary on an Iqama (work permit) issued the UAE government, adding that he did not mention it in his nomination papers submitted in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). “There is no other example in the world that a foreign minister of a country receives salary from any other country,” he said.

NAB Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal ordered the complaint verification against the minister on March 7.

Mr Dar claimed in his complaint that he has documentary evidence against the minister’s financial wrongdoings and vowed to provide all documents to NAB.

The PTI deputy secretary who has also accused Mr Asif of possessing wealth beyond his known sources of income raised 13 questions regarding the alleged money laundering by the minister.

In a letter he sent to NAB, Mr Dar claimed that he possessed documentary evidence regarding the minister’s involved in money laundering, therefore, the bureau should immediately initiate an investigation against him.

He claimed that Mr Asif had himself accepted that he held a UAE Iqama. “Khawaja Asif has also been accused of concealing his off-shore assets from the Election Commission of Pakistan,” he wrote in his complaint.

He claimed that Mr Asif received a monthly salary of Rs1.6 million from an Abu Dhabi-based firm.

Mr Dar’s complaint carried details of Mr Asif’s alleged offshore firm and his business. He claimed that millions of rupees were deposited in a foreign bank account of Mr Asif.

In the complaint the minister had also been accused of using a foreign bank account of his wife for receiving money and that he had not declared his and his wife’s foreign bank accounts in his nomination papers submitted in the ECP.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2018