ISLAMABAD - Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority Chairman Lieutenant General (Retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa has strongly rejected the allegations levelled against him and his family in a news item that appeared on a website.

In response to the allegations, General Asim Bajwa has decided Thursday to resign from the post of Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting. He said that he would continue to serve the country as Chairman CPEC.

Asim Saleem Bajwa released a four-page clarification on his Twitter account and said that he strongly rebutted the baseless allegations levelled against him and his family. “The news broken by Ahmed Noorani on an unknown website on 27.08.2020 regarding myself is vehemently denied as incorrect and false,” he said.

He said “In the news, it has been alleged that my declaration of assets and liabilities as an SAPM in the Federal Government dated 22.06.2020 is incorrect because I have failed to disclose the investment of my wife abroad, my brothers have conducted businesses in the USA and their growth of business is relatable to my promotion in the Pakistan Army, random mention has been made of companies, businesses and properties owned by my brothers and children, with sweeping allegations regarding their evaluation and propriety.”

He said emphatically that all the adverse insinuation levelled in the news item were materially false. He added that another attempt to damage his and his family’s reputation was exposed. Bajwa said that he had and would always serve the country with pride and dignity.

Bajwa said in a press release that an ‘incorrect and false’ news had been revealed by a journalist Ahmed Noorani on an unknown website on August 27 which claimed the wrong declaration of his assets and liabilities as SAPM on June 22. It has also been alleged that he had failed to disclose the investment of his wife abroad.

The controversial report also made claims regarding the businesses of Asim Saleem Bajwa’s brothers in the USA and related its growth to his promotion in Pakistan Army. The statement read, “Random mention has been made of companies, businesses and properties, owned by my brothers and children, with sweeping allegations regarding their evaluation and propriety.”

In his rebuttal clarification, SAPM Asim Saleem Bajwa said that he declared his assets on June 22, 2020 and at that time, his wife was not part of any business investment as she had withdrawn her business investments on 1st June 2020. He also added that regarding this stance, all ratification could be made from concerned departments in the United States.

The SAPM also pointed that his wife’s shares in investment was US$19,492 and did not make violation of the rules and regulations of State Bank.

The SAPM also clarified that his brothers’ companies Silkline Enterprises were not awarded any contract under CPEC and the very company provided manpower to different industries in Rahimyar Khan.

He said that allegations were levelled against his sons that they bought houses and villas in the United States, he clarified in press release that his son got houses through bank lease and 80 percent debts on houses was still pending.

He said that ages of his three sons were 33, 32 and 27 years respectively. My sons got business degrees from major US universities and were highly paid in their respective jobs.

It was also alleged that my son got registered a compnay Himaliya, “I want to clarify that my son owns only fifty percent share of this company. This is very small scale company and it has been able to earn only five hundred thousand rupees in last three years. Another company registered to my son was in constant loss from last five years. Similarly another company Cripton did not make any business during these years.”

The SAPM also refuted the news relating to Bajco Global Management Company and Pizza Chain sequel in this regard.

The SAPM said that he had five brothers and two of them were doctors and one of them had served as Vice President in a US bank. “One of my brother worked in a Restaurant Operating Company as Controller while one brother shared partnership in a restaurant chain,” he said.

The SAPM Asim Saleem Bajwa said that any of his brothers had not been in his custodianship; there were fifty other investors in companies of his brother and wife. “During last 18 years from 2002, my brothers had built assets of US$70 million in franchises and out of these assets US$60 million belonged to bank loans, said SAPM.