A Pakistani court has greenlighted the two-day physical remand of a prominent journalist who was arrested for his alleged involvement in leaking the personal tax data of former army chief General (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa's family members.
"There is evidence against Shahid Aslam which shows that the suspect was leaking information," the prosecutor was quoted as saying by The News International newspaper.
However, senior journalist Shahid Aslam denied all the charges against him, saying that there was no evidence against him as he had done nothing wrong.
In November last year, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar took notice of the "illegal and unwarranted" leakage of tax information of Bajwa's family. "This is clearly a violation of the complete confidentiality of tax information that the law provides," a statement from the Finance Division read.
According to the Pakistan newspaper, Dar had said that he had received the interim report related to the leak of Bajwa's income tax records. He added that they have traced some people involved in the act.
A damaging report last year shed light on the sharp rise of wealth of close family members of the former army chief of Pakistan, before the end of his tenure.
Investigative publication Fact Focus unearthed how Bajwa's immediate and extended family members started a new business in a few years and became owners of farmhouses in prominent Pakistani cities, making billions of dollars in the process.
The investigative report by Fact Focus was supported by data that looked into the financial dealing of Bajwa's family including his wife Ayesha Amjad, his daughter-in-law Mahnoor Sabir and other close family members.
Based on tax returns and other financial statements, the report revealed how between 2013 and 2017, Bajwa revised the wealth statement for 2013 three times, after being appointed country's army chief.
( With inputs from ANI )
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