Asim Saleem Bajwa to step down as special assistant to prime minister

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 4 September 2020

Asim Saleem Bajwa announced his resignation as special assistant to the prime minister during a television program. He plans to focus on his role as chairman of the CPEC Authority while addressing allegations against him and his family.

Summary

ISLAMABAD—Lt. Gen. (Retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa on Thursday decided to step down from his position as a special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on information.

Bajwa disclosed this in Geo News program Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath. He said he would present his resignation to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday. He was assigned this portfolio in April. He, however, said he would continue to serve as the chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority.

According to Dawn, Bajwa made this announcement after he issued a four-page rebuttal to a recently published investigative news report by journalist Ahmad Noorani about alleged offshore properties and businesses of Bajwa and his close family members.

Responding to those allegations on Thursday, Bajwa said he had all the relevant documents to support his money trail. He also denied the allegations in a tweet and termed them baseless.

He told Shahzeb Khanzada of Geo News he had decided to quit as the SAPM on information after consultation with his family. "I decided to put all my energies into CPEC because we thought that a lot of focus is currently needed on the CPEC Authority."