Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Tuesday strongly reacted to the government's policy of allowing huge investments in real estate sector of Dubai by handful elite having strong connections in the power corridors.
In a letter to National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue Chairman Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, PTI MNA Asad Umar demanded the parliamentary panel to take notice of the issue and discuss the matter in its upcoming meeting.
He asked if the State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Investigation Agency, National Accountability Bureau or any other institution has probed into huge investments of Pakistanis in real estate sector of the Dubai.
"We just want to know whether these institutions are aware of volume of the investment made in Dubai by Pakistanis or they are acting as a silent spectators, as the government seems to be a facilitator despite the fact the nation is submerging into huge debt," he added.
Expressing grave concerns over the increasing trend of Pakistanis' investments in Dubai, he said the parliamentary panel must ascertain whether or not the law of the land permits its citizens to invest abroad for the sake of earning more profits.
"If even the laws allow the investment, what's the procedure for that as advertisements are being published in national newspapers to lure investments in real estate sector of Dubai," he said, adding that the government is yet to take stock of the situation.
He also asked from the government whether the relevant state institutions have compiled a list of the Pakistanis who have been investing in Dubai, adding that it is incumbent upon the parliamentary panel to take strict notice of the issue, given the sensitivity of the matter.
He stressed the need to probe the assets of the Pakistanis who have made huge investments in Dubai to ascertain whether or not they had legitimate capital to invest abroad.
He added what action the government has so far initiated against those investors who were found involved in concealment of the assets, tax evasions or had flouted other relevant laws of the land.
"It must be ascertained whether the authorities verified if these investments have been declared in income tax returns of the people who have made the huge investments in Dubai," he said.
Referring to a briefing by the State Bank of Pakistan to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue that categorically stated the overseas investments by resident Pakistani individuals are not permitted, he said the committee must play its due role in bringing the facts to the fore as to how the capital is flowing outside the country.
-Business RecorderÂ
