LAHORE: No stranger to controversies, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif found himself in the centre of more contentious claims, after a journalist alleged the PML-N stalwart had offered his resignation — supposedly in protest against the arrest of a government official from Sialkot.
The PML-N leader, however, denied the remarks made by the journalist in a tweet, calling the allegations “fake news”.
The resignation controversy purportedly centres around the arrest of Sialkot Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue Iqbal Sanghera earlier this week, whose remand was extended by a judicial magistrate in Lahore on Thursday.
Days after the arrest, the minister, in a strongly worded tweet, lashed out at bureaucrats for their alleged involvement in corruption and making efforts to acquire nationality in a southern European country.
PTI calls on defence minister to name and shame those he accuses of amassing fortunes abroad
“More than half of our country’s bureaucracy has already purchased property in Portugal and is preparing to acquire citizenship. And these are well-known, high-ranking bureaucrats,” he said in a post on X on Aug 5.
“These crocodiles have looted billions and are now living a comfortable retired life. One of (former chief minister) Usman Buzdar’s closest bureaucrats received Rs4bn just as ‘salami’ (cash gifts) at his daughters’ weddings, and he, too, is living peacefully in retirement. Politicians only get the leftovers and make foolish remarks — no plots, no foreign citizenship — because they have to contest elections…” he alleged.
A day later, the minister doubled down on his claims and said a certain Mr Virk was playing the “largest role in providing shelter to bureaucracy and other elites in Portugal”.
It was against this backdrop that a journalist claimed on X that the minister had tendered his resignation to PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, allegedly over the arrest of the official from Sialkot.
However, the defence minister denied these claims, sharing a screenshot of the journalist’s tweet bearing the inscription ‘fake’.
“With apologies, this gentleman has expressed his wishes in this tweet. Not reality,” Mr Asif said in response to the claims made by the journalist.
Mr Asif did not respond to a Dawn request for comment.
Official’s remand extended
Separately, a judicial magistrate in Lahore extended the physical remand of Additional Deputy Commissioner Revenue Muhammad Iqbal Sanghera in a case registered by the Anti-Corruption Establishment.
A team of the Anti-Corruption Establishment presented Mr Iqbal before the court on expiry of his previous remand and sought his physical remand for further investigation.
Magistrate Bushra Anwar accepted the request and extended the remand of the ADCR for four more days. The magistrate directed the ACE to produce the suspect again on Aug 11.
PTI seeks names
Meanwhile, the PTI urged Mr Asif to expose Pakistani nationals who plundered billions and built empires in Portugal, London, the UAE, or elsewhere in Europe.
The opposition party said the defence minister should “name and shame” these plunderers and bring them to justice instead of acting like a “powerless whistleblower”.
PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram urged him to take the next step and expose all politicians, both serving and retired officials, along with their relatives, who have seen a mushroom growth in their wealth and siphoned off national resources to build offshore empires.
Wajih Ahmad Sheikh also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2025
