Over half of retired bureaucrats have bought assets in Portugal, says Kh Asif
Defence Minister says these bureaucrats are blot on country’s name
Making a startling revelation, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Wednesday that over half of the retired bureaucrats of Pakistan had purchased properties in Portugal and were now even contemplating getting the country’s citizenship, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
In a tweet, while equating these ex-government servants with big fish, the minister accused them of minting billions of rupees through corrupt practices and living a lavish life abroad.
وطن عزیز کی آدھی سے زیادہ بیوروکریسی پرتگال میں پراپرٹی لے چکی ھے اور شہریت لینی کی تیاری کر رہی ھے۔ اوریہ نامی گرامی بیوروکریٹس ھیں ۔ مگر مچھ اربوں روپے کھا کے آرام سے ریٹائرمنٹ کی زندگی گزار رہیں۔ بزدار کا ایک قریب ترین بیوروکریٹ چار ارب بیٹیوں کی شادی پر صرف سلامی وصول کر چکا…
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) August 5, 2025
“Compare these bureaucrats with politicians and it will dawn upon you that they (politicians) are nowhere near them when it comes to corruption and making money through illegal means,” Asif wrote.
A retired bureaucrat, quite close to former Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar, the minister went on to say, received Rs4 billion in gifts at the wedding ceremonies of his daughters. “And now he is living a luxurious life after retirement.”
“The fact of the matter is that bureaucrats are bringing a bad name to the country.”
In another tweet, Asif posted within 12 hours of the first tweet, he said a man named ‘Virk Sahib’ played a major role in providing ‘sanctuaries to bureaucrats in Portugal’.