Ahmad Noorani says he stands by his story

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 1 September 2020

Ahmad Noorani defends his report on Asim Bajwa's business dealings and assets, claiming he can substantiate his findings in court. He emphasizes the authenticity of the documents he has provided.

Summary

ISLAMABAD—Standing by his report regarding the assets and business interests of CPEC Chairman Lt. Gen. (Retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa, journalist Ahmad Noorani (pictured) has said he was ready to prove the documents in any court.

Noorani, currently in the US, told VOA Urdu that all documents regarding the assets and companies of Asim Bajwa, who is also an advisor to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, have been verified.

He added that he had more documents in this regard but included only those in his story, which were verified by the governments in Pakistan, America, Canada, and UAE.

Noorani said he was ready to face court and confident of proving the authenticity of the documents. "I would tell the court that only verified documents have been made public."

In his story on a little known website on August 27, Noorani's claims that Gen. Bajwa, during his service in the army, developed around 200 businesses and acquired commercial and residential properties in and outside Pakistan.

The report claims that the worth of properties was $2.52 million or Rs876 crore. With this investment, the story maintained Bajwa's wife and his brothers established 174 franchised restaurants of two international food chains.

Noorani said his story was not regarding Papa John's Pizza as this was circulating on social media. "I started investigating when Bajwa's youngest brother claimed Asim Bajwa and his family has nothing to do with these franchises."

He said when the prime minister asked his advisors to declare their assets, Gen. Bajwa did not mention these businesses and wrote "nil" against the question of assets outside Pakistan.

Noorani said he would come back to Pakistan in a few months.

VOA Urdu said they contacted Lt Gen Bajwa, Minister for Information Shibli Faraz, and the prime minister's advisor Shahbaz Gill but none of them responded.

KEY POINTS:

• Ahmad Noorani asserts his readiness to prove his report in court.
• Bajwa allegedly developed around 200 businesses during his service.
• The estimated worth of Bajwa's properties is $2.52 million.
• Noorani clarifies that his report is not related to a specific pizza franchise.
• Bajwa reportedly declared 'nil' for assets outside Pakistan.