ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel probing around $8 billion investments in real estate by Pakistanis in Dubai has witnessed deadlock leading to serious arguments among its members amid lack of cooperation by government departments.

A sub-committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance commenced its meeting on Wednesday with a dissenting note by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf legislator Asad Umar, who stated, “The most powerful and the strongest people in Pakistan have properties abroad, therefore, they are bent upon sabotaging this exercise.”

The sub-committee headed by Dr Shezra Mansab Ali of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was set up to track loopholes in the system that allow massive inv­estments in properties by Pakis­tanis abroad, mainly in Dubai.

Asad Umar says the most powerful people in Pakistan, who own property abroad, are sabotaging the exercise

The mandate of the sub-committee was for one month which expires on Nov 10, but its second meeting was held with only two days remaining for the end of its time frame.

An FIA team told the sub-committee that through a source they had received a list of 100 persons who owned properties in Dubai, but the UAE authorities did not respond to their queries.

Similarly, an FBR official informed the meeting that his department tried to get information from the UAE authorities under taxation treaties between the two counties, but there was no response from that country.

Mr Umar said: “Pakistan has lost cases due to international arbitration but our departments cannot get information from the UAE despite the fact the two countries are signatories of various UN conventions, including those against corruption and money-laundering.”

The sub-committee directed the FIA to share the list of 100 persons with the FBR so that fresh efforts could be made to gather information from authorities in Dubai.

The sub-committee was set up after Mr Umar pointed out that the Dubai Land Authority had issued a press statement highlighting that in the past four years Pakistanis had invested around $8bn in the real estate sector, whereas no permission had been granted to any person to take money abroad for buying property.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2017