ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has written to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seeking “missing information” about its citizens who have bought movable and immovable assets in the Emirates allegedly through ill-gotten money, a Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) official said.
Islamabad has been struggling to track foreign assets of its citizens in other countries, including the UAE, allegedly purchased through money-laundering. But the campaign to repatriate culprits has so far met with little success due to the absence of mutual legal assistance treaties with the host countries.
“It is a routine process …. we have written to the UAE authorities to seek some missing information on individuals like their bank accounts details, complete name, etc. for further investigation to see if they had bought assets through money-laundering,” Dr. Hamid Ateeq Sarwar, the FBR’s member inland revenue policy, told Arab News.
According to the Dubai real estate market, Pakistanis were among the top ten foreign investors in property in the UAE in 2018. Pakistani authorities suspect that its nationals who have obtained the UAE iqama, or work permit, have been using it to hide their illegal wealth in the Emirates.
“We are gravely concerned with the persons who have siphoned off funds illegally from Pakistan, parked them in the UAE and are now hiding behind iqama-based residential status to circumvent reporting under the CRS (common reporting standard),” the FBR said in the letter to the UAE Ministry of Finance on Friday.
Pakistan became a member of the multilateral Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2016 which has released the CRS, a global standard for automatic exchange of financial account information, including the systematic and periodic exchange of taxpayer information over its 100 member jurisdictions.
Under the mechanism, Pakistan has received information of some 3,620 accounts of Pakistanis in the UAE, but said that “the number of material accounts with a substantial balance is negligible.”
Sarwar said that the exchange of information was an ongoing process and “those who have laundered money from Pakistan and bought assets anywhere in the world won’t be spared.”
International tax law experts believe that Pakistan would have little success in gathering valuable information on its citizens from other countries until bilateral mutual legal assistance treaties were signed.
“It is a futile exercise. No country will share any authentic information and evidence of money laundering or tax evasion with us until we succeed in signing bilateral agreements for the purpose,” Habibullah Khan, advocate Supreme Court and expert on international tax laws, told Arab News.
He said that even if the FBR got some information about Pakistani citizens who had bought properties in other countries, “this will be almost impossible to prove in our courts that assets were bought through ill-gotten wealth.”
Pakistan seeks details from UAE about citizens buying assets through ‘ill-gotten money’
Pakistan seeks details from UAE about citizens buying assets through ‘ill-gotten money’
- Islamabad struggling to track foreign assets bought via money laundering in other countries, including UAE
- Campaign has met with little success due to absence of mutual legal assistance treaties with host countries
Pakistan strikes $4 billion deal to sell weapons to Libyan force, officials say
- Pakistan’s defense industry spans aircraft, vehicles, and naval construction
- The deal, spread over two-and-a-half years, includes JF-17 jets, officials say
KARACHI: Pakistan has reached a deal worth over $4 billion to sell military equipment to the Libyan National Army, four Pakistani officials said, despite a UN arms embargo on the fractured North African country.
The deal, one of Pakistan’s largest-ever weapons sales, was finalized after a meeting last week between Pakistan military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Saddam Khalifa Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the LNA, in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, said the four officials.
The officials, all involved in defense matters, declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the deal.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry, defense ministry and military did not respond to requests for comment.
Any arms agreement with the LNA is likely to face scrutiny given Libya’s long-running instability following a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi and split the country between rival authorities.
A copy of the deal before it was finalized that was seen by Reuters listed the purchase of 16 JF-17 fighter jets, a multi-role combat aircraft that has been jointly developed by Pakistan and China, and 12 Super Mushak trainer aircraft, used for basic pilot training.
One of the Pakistani officials confirmed the list was accurate while a second official said the arms on the list were all part of the deal but could not provide exact numbers.
One of the Pakistani officials said the deal included the sale of equipment for land, sea and air, spread over 2-1/2 years, adding it could also include the JF-17 fighter jets. Two of the officials said the deal was valued at more than $4 billion, while the other two said it amounted to $4.6 billion.
The LNA’s official media channel reported on Sunday that the faction had entered a defense cooperation pact with Pakistan, which included weapons sales, joint training and military manufacturing, without providing details.
“We announce the launch of a new phase of strategic military cooperation with Pakistan,” Haftar said in remarks broadcast on Sunday by Al-Hadath television.
Authorities in Benghazi also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The UN-recognized Government of National Unity, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, controls much of western Libya, while Haftar’s LNA controls the east and south, including major oilfields, and does not recognize the western government’s authority.
ARMS EMBARGO
Libya has been subject to a UN arms embargo since 2011, requiring approval from the UN for transfers of weapons and related material.
A panel of experts said in a December 2024 report to the UN that the arms embargo on Libya remained “ineffective.” The panel said some foreign states had become increasingly open about providing military training and assistance to forces in both eastern and western Libya despite the restrictions.
It was not immediately clear whether Pakistan or Libya had applied for any exemptions to the UN embargo.
Three of the Pakistani officials said the deal had not broken any UN weapons embargo.
One of the officials said Pakistan is not the only one to make deals with Libya; another said there are no sanctions on Haftar; and a third said Benghazi authorities are witnessing better relations with Western governments, given rising fuel exports.
PAKISTAN EYEING MARKETS
Pakistan has been seeking to expand defense exports, drawing on decades of counterinsurgency experience and a domestic defense industry that spans aircraft production and overhaul, armored vehicles, munitions and naval construction.
Islamabad has cited its Air Force’s performance in clashes with India in May.
“Our recent war with India demonstrated our advanced capabilities to the world,” military chief Munir said in remarks broadcast by Al-Hadath on Sunday.
Pakistan markets the Chinese co-developed JF-17 as a lower-cost multi-role fighter and has positioned itself as a supplier able to offer aircraft, training and maintenance outside Western supply chains.
Pakistan has also been deepening security ties with Gulf partners, signing a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia in September 2025 and holding senior-level defense talks with Qatar.
The Libya deal would expand Pakistan’s footprint in North Africa as regional and international powers compete for influence over Libya’s fragmented security institutions and oil-backed economy.
