TeaHis door was opened by an English butler named Terry, dressed in fully elongated pinstriped trousers and a dark suit—a gesture of brilliant professional disdain for the scorching Arabian sun. The manservant’s attire didn’t change as the set changed: Emirates Hill Mansion in Dubai, set around a sprawling courtyard with a fountain at its center; Gorgeous apartment in luxurious South Kensington, London; Five-Bedroom, 154-Foot Yacht wayIts Art-Deco interiors are carved from teak.
In a lounge adorned with art from the Middle East and South Asia, Imran Khan’s new wife waited for the only women’s gathering that lay ahead. “I groaned at the prospect of spending my afternoon with more silicone dolls,” Remembering Reham Khan,
“Baby, they are very important,” repeated the future prime minister of Pakistan. “Arif Naqvi himself funded 66% of my campaign in 2013.”
fighting Extradition to the United StatesWhile he faces a sentence of 291 years for financial fraud, Naqvi now finds himself at the center of a storm over his role in financing the rise of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). explosives allegations have surfaced That Naqvi paid on the instructions of Lt-General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the former Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
legal filing by United States Prosecutor It is alleged that Naqvi falsified documents to cover losses, and misappropriated at least $400 million from investors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which aimed to finance healthcare for the poor in developing countries.
New evidence suggests that part of that money was used in a military-led conspiracy to overthrow Pakistan’s political system.
Read also: Imran Khan waiting for big financial scam? Follow Pakistani businessman Arif Naqvi’s money
Generals and Imran
The story goes back to the summer of 2008, when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s government went down. enforcement of civil control over ISI. The move, intended to increase rapprochement with India and prompt the ISI to take action against anti-US jihadists, backfired. former CIA officer Bruce Riedel has said That the ISI undermined the effort for civil peace by staging 26/11. Following a United States raid that led to the assassination of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, civil-military relations deteriorated further.
The generals needed a trusted political partner. With a platform to negotiate with Taliban jihadists, with greater Islamization and a tougher position on Kashmir, Imran had the right ideological credentials.
Imran facing growing questions publicly denied report of ISI funding in 2012. However the evidence was mounting. army, Frederick Grey has seenlaunched a bloodless coup in December 2012 to help them by facilitating mass protests against the government.
Imran’s 2013 election bid failed – but the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also found itself embroiled in conflict with the military. Fresh protests led by Imran again paralyzed the government in 2014. New ISI chief Lt-Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam, Nawaz Sharif claimed, threatened make a coup Until the prime minister resigned to make way for Imran,
Lieutenant-General Rizwan Akhtar was ISI chief appointed In 2014, to defuse tensions between the government and the military. Through the generals, however, completed their unfinished business.
The Empire Behind Imran
Earlier this year, Naqvi submitted an affidavit Pakistan’s Election Commission admitted that it had raised $2.1 million for Imran in 2013 – exactly when the general was plotting his elevation. Electoral laws in Pakistan prohibit foreign donations to political parties, but Naqvi insisted that he raised money from Pakistani citizens. Wootton Cricket, the Cayman Islands-registered company through which the money was paid, only “acted as a convenient and traceable aggregator of funds.”
Last week, however, journalists and writers Simon Clark reveals That bank record shows that in March 2013, $1.3 million was paid to Imran’s party from Naqvi’s Abraaj Investment Management. Abraaj later donated to the holding company, through which he controlled the electricity supply firm Karachi Electric.
Another $2 million, documents show, came from Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Wootan.
by Imran Khan accepted to receive money from Naqvi, but says they were regular political donations. There is no explanation as to why the businessman and sheikh made these investments in their political fortunes.
Last year, an investigation by Margot Gibbs and Malia Pulitzer Revealed Several prominent members of Imran’s internal circle—including ministers Shaukat Tareen, Chaudhry Moonis Elahi and Makhdum Khusro Bakhtiyar—have millions of dollars in offshore trusts and companies. $215 million was found in offshore accounts with Tariq Shafi, a prominent PTI donor.
For his part, General Pasha was appointed advisor to the United Arab Emirates. after his retirement in 2012. From 2016, he started working as a consultant for WAK Group. The company owned by politician-tycoon Waqar Ahmed Khan has reportedly benefited from gas quotas without open bid, WAK was also held by British courts default on loan To develop a 1.5-acre property in London into a mansion with 21 bedrooms, a basement, swimming pool, a cinema, a sauna and orangery.
Read also: Why did Imran Khan blame America for his downfall and not Pakistan’s army?
power man
Educated at Karachi Grammar School and London School of Economics, Naqvi leveraged his education to escape a toxic environment where success depended on connections and corruption. In 1982, he married Faiza Chundrigar, a descendant of Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar, a tycoon who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for 55 days in 1957. After a successful career in several major banks, he moved to the United Arab Emirates and founded Abraaj. At his peak, Abraj had assets worth $13.6 billion across six continents.
Naqvis counted Hillary and Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Bill Gates among his friends. He donated to top universities and prestigious charities. Then, he bet big on creating a swamp called Karachi Electric.
Since the 1950s, Karachi’s power supply system gradually disintegrated. While consumers shy away from paying their bills, governments have invested less in infrastructure. In 2005, the government offered Abraaj a token to Karachi Electric for $1. In the end, a Saudi-Kuwait consortium acquired 71 percent of Karachi Electric’s shares.
The union soon finds out that he has made a mistake. In 2008—due to the widespread blackout in Karachi due to industrial crackdown—Naqvi was asked to take power again. This time he agreed. Helped by friends in Washington, a . pushed through $7.5 billion aid package This would have helped in reforming the power sector in Pakistan.
Farooq Abbas, who was related to then President Zardari through his wife, was appointed to lead Abraj in Pakistan. However, the President’s privatization of Karachi Electric met with opposition from within his own party. In 2011, Abraaj’s decision to sack 4,300 workers led to violence, allegedly provoked by powerful leaders of the ruling party.
Perhaps the sad experience with Zardari had something to do with Naqvi’s support for Imran.
Facing a mountain of unpaid bills from government customers and a growing pile of debt to its own energy suppliers—Karachi Electric struggled. The solution came from President Xi Jinping. Shanghai Electric, one of China’s largest power companies, stepped in with a $1.7 billion offer to take over Karachi Electric from Naqvi.
In the summer of 2016, Simon Clarke and Will Loach wrote an official book On Abraj’s story, Naqvi signed a $20 million contract with a middleman to gain the support of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. However, the prime minister was removed from office in 2017 by a Supreme Court ruling that convicted him of corruption.
Read also: Last year 41 Indians became Pakistanis. Why do they do this? What are the obstacles?
end of dream
Imran Khan finally came to power in 2018, installed in office, scholar C. Christine Fair has recorded, facilitated by the military, Facing financial pressure due to poor investment, Naqvi necessitated the sale of Karachi Electric. Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Bashir Memon came in the way. Abraj owes Rs 87 billion to Pakistan’s state-owned gas company Pakistani. In response to demands for payment, Memon said laterKarachi Electric will threaten to shut down power to the city—and secure a respite.
Imran ordered Memon to close the case. The FIA chief refused, leading to his unofficial transfer. talks to sell karachi electric Be stayedPakistan amid controversies over how much it owes to the government, the scale of its debt and future electricity-pricing.
To help Naqvi, Imran also threw his weight behind a plan to build a Sovereign Wealth TrustSarmaya-e-Pakistan, which will control the public sector assets of the country. Abraj was expected to have a major stake in the running of the trust, with former employees playing a significant role.
The forensic investigation of Abraj’s cases foiled Imran’s attempts to grant Naqvi bail. Naqvi was caught at Heathrow airport in early 2019. Like fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi, Naqvi is also fighting for extradition. mental health foundation, Both the cases are likely to be decided together.
Even though Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the ruling coalition of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party have used the Naqvi revelations to attack Imran, no criminal investigation has been ordered. The Election Commission of Pakistan has admitted that Imran Khan received prohibited funds, but its investigation does not touch upon the sources and their objectives. The brotherhood’s grip on Pakistan’s politics is too deep—and this includes the generals—to tell the whole truth.
The author is ThePrint’s National Security Editor. He tweeted @praveenswami. Thoughts are personal.
(edited by Prashant)