Defence Minister and senior PML-N leader Khawaja Asif has levelled serious allegations against the country’s bureaucracy, triggering intense backlash online, much of it aimed at the minister himself.

 

“More than half of the [members] of the bureaucracy of our dear homeland have already bought properties in Portugal and are preparing to obtain citizenship there,” he stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, without presenting any proof.

 

 

The minister claimed that the bureaucrats, after devouring billions of rupees, comfortably live a retired life. “One of [Usman] Buzdar’s [former chief minister of Punjab] closest bureaucrats has collected four billion rupees just in salami for his daughters’ weddings and is now calmly enjoying a retired life (sic),” he alleged.

 

The defence czar argued, “Politicians only get what is left over by them (bureaucrats)” and still get blamed for everything. 

 

He stated that politicians do not possess plots or foreign citizenship, as such holdings would disqualify them from contesting elections. “It is the bureaucracy that is polluting the sacred land of Pakistan,” he said.

 

In another post, he alleged that a man named “Virk sahab” has been playing the biggest role in providing shelters to the bureaucracy and elites in Portugal.

 

 

Journalists and social media users were quick to react to the minister’s allegations. “Khawaja sahab, your point seems valid. Please check who, among the bureaucrats or politicians, built Park View City in Portugal, where people obtain a European passport after investing there,” replied journalist Umar Cheema.

 

 

“You are the country's defence minister and a key leader of the ruling party, yet so helpless, Khawaja Sahib,” wrote journalist Shahid Aslam on X.

 

 

“If a top brass minister like Khawaja Asif is only going to tweet, then who would arrest them, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman or Yasmin Rashid? Who has stopped you from taking the money trail from these looters?” asked state-owned PTV-associated journalist Najam Wali Khan.

 

Pointing out the severity of the allegations, a netizen questioned, “Khawaja sahab, are you with the government or in the opposition?” One of the users said that that tweet “is an expression of helplessness”.

 

 

Another opined, “Everything else is fine, Khawaja Sahib, but just keep in mind that, no matter how, the government is yours. And you, by the grace of God, are also a respected minister, not only weak but also a favourite person of every constituency and leadership. It’s the public’s job to lodge complaints and yours to resolve them; here, the tables are turned, and you’re the one making complaints (sic).”