ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said he had received an interim report of an investigation ordered into the “illegal and unwarranted leakage” of tax information of the family members of Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, saying that ‘some people’ involved in the data breach had already been traced in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
The country’s finance czar was referring to a report by Fact Focus, an independent investigative journalism website, which last week published wealth and tax details of members of Bajwa’s immediate and extended family, saying they had become “billionaires over the last six months” by establishing international businesses, shifting capital abroad, and buying foreign properties.
The report, citing the family’s tax and wealth statements, said the current market value of known assets and businesses owned by the family within Pakistan and abroad during the last six years amounted to “more than Rs12.7 billion.”
In an interview to a local TV channel on Tuesday night, Dar said in the absence of a court order, the leakage of an individual’s tax details was a “violation of law,” which is why he had ordered an investigation.
“The interim report showed that some people in Lahore and Rawalpindi, who might have had access to the FBR’s system, have been traced,” he said, referring to the Federal Board of Revenue, Pakistan’s main tax collection body. “We are looking into this and will drive the matter to its logical conclusion.”
“We cannot permit anyone to access this type of information illegally and if I don’t take action [against those involved] I wouldn’t be performing my job. I am expecting to receive a final report into the probe very soon.”
Citing previous examples, Dar, against whom a trial in an “assets beyond means” case was terminated this week, said he received an anonymous message in 2017 that the FBR’s system had been ‘invaded’ by hackers trying to access his tax returns.
“Those who hack the system or are authorized to access it leave their footprints and traces behind, so I had the system checked and found out that there were seven attempts to access my details,” Dar said. “I didn’t take action at that time because if they had asked me, I would have handed over my tax returns to them myself because I have been transparent about [my income and assets].”
He added that the leakage of the tax details of the army chief’s family was “a violation of the system and the law.”
“Those who leaked the information challenged the accuracy and strength of the [FBR’s] system. Therefore, I would say that unless there is a court order issued in this regard, no one is authorized to access FBR’s data.”
