A new report titled ‘Dubai Unlocked’ has revealed that around 22,000 Pakistani citizens own properties in Dubai valued at nearly $12.6 billion. The data, leaked in 2022, was obtained by the Centre for Advanced Defence Studies (C4ADS) and shared with Norwegian financial outlet E24 and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). This investigative project included 74 partners from 58 countries.
The report highlighted that while the official number of Pakistani property owners in Dubai was 17,000, further analysis by academics suggested the actual figure could be closer to 22,000. The estimated value of these properties has risen from $9.9 billion at the beginning of 2022, reflecting a more than 25% increase in property prices over the last two years. This has placed the current worth of these properties at approximately $12.6 billion.
Among the notable property owners listed are retired military officials, bankers, politicians, and bureaucrats. High-profile names include the late former dictator Pervez Musharraf, his wife, and his former military secretary Lt-Gen Shafaat Ullah Shah. The data also mentions President Asif Ali Zardari’s three children, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s wife, Shajeel Memon and other family members, Senator Faisal Vawda, Fara Gogi, Sher Afzal Marwat, four MNAs, and six MPAs from the Balochistan and Sindh assemblies.
Despite the high property values, there is no immediate indication of financial wrongdoing from the data alone. The report lacks specifics on residence status, income sources, and tax declarations for rental income or capital gains. Several individuals, including PPP
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s spokesperson and Interior Minister Naqvi, asserted that their Dubai properties were fully declared to tax authorities.
“All the national and international assets of Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Bibi Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari have already been declared in the Election Commission of Pakistan and with the FBR,” said Bilawal’s spokesperson Zulfikar Ali Bader. Interior Minister Naqvi also confirmed the property listed in his wife’s name was “fully declared and listed in tax returns.”
