11 former ministers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) reportedly had an increase in assets and wealth during the time they were in the government, marking a big jump in their incomes from 2017 to 2019.
A report by Samaa TV has revealed that several members of the PTI who had served as ministers during the PTI government had become wealthier while they were in parliament.
The list consists of former ministers such as Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, Omar Ayub Khan, Azam Khan Swati, Khusro Bakhtiar, Faisal Vawda, Shafqat Mehmood, Fehmida Mirza, Zubaida Jalal, Mahboob Sultan and Tariq Cheema.
Six of the ministers on the list issued notices explaining the reasons for the increase in their wealth, denying any allegations of foul play or corruption.
The assets of former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi allegedly increased by 241%. In 2014, he had reported cumulative assets worth Rs 72.5 million, which had increased to Rs 278.3 million in 2019.
Qureshi attributed this increase to his wife receiving shares from the sale of a property she had been gifted by her mother, as well as the sale of her own inherited property, coming out to be Rs 169.6 million and Rs 22.6 million each.
Similarly, the assets of former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed increased by 282%, with his reported assets jumping from Rs 39.4 million in 2014, to Rs 149.2 million in 2019.
He claimed the reason for this increase was the sale of land, for which he received an advance sum of Rs 100 million.
The biggest increase in wealth was of former federal minister Zubaida Jalil, whose assets increased by a massive 1,189%. Her assets grew from Rs 9 million in 2017 to Rs 116 million in 2019. She explained the changes due to a change in the prerequisites for declaring assets, saying that the ECP had not required the mentioning of her immovable assets at the time of declaration in 2014.
The smallest increase in wealth was seen by former minister Faisal Vawda, who has already faced disqualification by the ECP. His wealth rose by just 25%, increasing his assets from Rs 507 million in 2017 to Rs 630 million in 2019.
Vawda, in addition to two other ministers and the spokesperson of the ECP, did not respond to requests to comment on the changes.
