Islamabad: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has leveled serious allegations against Pakistan’s bureaucracy that more than half of them have purchased properties in Portugal and are preparing to acquire foreign citizenship with money allegedly earned through corruption.
In a post on social media platform X, the minister accused retired bureaucrats of spending billions of rupees and living a luxurious, peaceful retirement abroad, away from any scrutiny.
Khawaja Asif did not mince his words. He revealed that a top bureaucrat, known to be close to former Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, allegedly received R 4 billion in “salami”—a traditional form of gift—at his daughters’ wedding, before settling into a quiet retirement.
“These were once powerful, well-known officers,” Asif wrote, “and now they’re spending their lives comfortably, far from the consequences of their corruption.”
Contrasting the conduct of politicians with bureaucrats, the defence minister said that elected representatives are forced to remain connected to the public, contest elections, and therefore do not enjoy the luxury of buying foreign property or acquiring second passports.
“Politicians neither get plots nor citizenship abroad. They spend their lives contesting elections and facing the people,” Asif said. “It is the bureaucrats who eat the real meat, and politicians only get what’s left—and yet they’re blamed for everything.”
In his sharpest critique, Asif said the bureaucracy has become a plague on Pakistan’s soil, accusing it of being the root cause of systemic corruption.
“These people, after looting public wealth, are now abandoning the country,” he alleged. “They’ve polluted our land, and now they’re seeking refuge in places like Portugal.”
