Pizza corruption scandal risks dragging China into Pakistan’s domestic affairs
- Imran Khan has been trying to seal allegations that his top belt-and-road official failed to disclose interests in a US pizza chain
- The ruling PTI party has suggested India is behind the claims, which are attracting a backlash and may again pull China into its ally’s domestic affairs
Pakistan’s government and powerful military have worked hard to suppress the mainstream media’s coverage of allegations that retired lieutenant general Asim Saleem Bajwa’s family built a multimillion-dollar US-based business which grew in parallel to his ascent through the ranks. The allegations were made in a report published last month by the independent news website FactFocus, co-founded by renowned Pakistani investigative journalist Ahmad Noorani.
The report claims that Bajwa failed to declare his wife’s stake in the business – the single largest franchise holder for US pizza chain Papa John’s – when he submitted details of his wealth to Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Bajwa was obliged to make public details of his wealth and assets after being appointed the prime minister’s special assistant on information in April – a role he performs alongside his job as the chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority.
The former military spokesman said he “strongly rebutted … a malicious propaganda story published on an unknown site, against me and my family”.
Khan’s ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, responding to the allegations on Twitter, characterised the allegations as an attack on the CPEC Authority by “a dissident social media group sitting abroad … to further the Indian agenda”.
They paint it as a nefarious effort to undermine China and Pakistan
The PTI has also launched a social media campaign to discredit the allegations, entitled #IndianProxiesAttackCPEC – an ultranationalist narrative which was subsequently echoed by some popular cable news channels.