Dar blasts PTI govt for allowing people to keep offshore shares secret

Former finance minister Ishaq Dar said the PTI government was seemingly protecting the overseas hidden assets of the party’s mafia, as he blasted the move to modify the Companies Act 2017 through a presidential ordinance promulgated on May 4.

In a video posted on Twitter, he said the PML-N had introduced the Companies Act 2017, binding the people to disclose their stakes in offshore companies.

ہم نے کمپنیز ایکٹ 2017 کے تحط لوگوں کو پابند کیا کہ جن کے آفشور کمپنیز میں انٹرسٹ ہوں گے وہ ان کو ظاہر کرنے کے پابند ہوں گے۔ابPTIنے صدارتی آرڈیننس کے ذریعے اس قانون کو بدل دیا کہ جس کے %10 تک شئیرز ہوں آفشور کمپنی میں اس کو ظاہر کرنے کی کوئی ضرورت نہیں۔آخر کن کو بچانے کی کوشش ہے؟ pic.twitter.com/SR4nH9Ai13

— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) May 15, 2020

But, he added, the PTI government had amended the legislation by allowing the people not to disclose their shares in offshore entities, if these were less than 10 percent.

What kind of change this is, what secret it contains, Dar asked and reminded the audience of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s offshore company Niazi Services – a matter which, he said, was not properly looked into.

The money collected in the name of Zakat was also invested in a BVI (British Virgin Island)-based company, the PML-N leader said while referring to the matters related to the Shaukat Khanum Hospital.

He maintained that it was seemingly another PTI mafia having assets abroad just like sugar, flour and medicines mafias.

Dar issued this a statement after it emerged that the PTI government had allowed Pakistani and dual nationals to keep secret their shareholding in offshore companies, if it was less than 10 percent, by amending the Companies Act 2017.

Separately, it is now not mandatory for a company to get no-objection certificate (NOC) before launching real estate projects, while they are also allowed to take advances from people without first securing necessary approvals.