Ali Dar had admitted buying 52 villas in UAE: Shahbaz Gill

A day after former finance minister Ishaq Dar's BBC Hardtalk interview where he claimed that he owned "one" property in the entire world, prime minister's aide Shahbaz Gill sought to "refresh" people's memory as he cited a news report in which revelations by the PML-N leader's son  — Ali Dar — were in complete contrast to the claim.

Gill, who is the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication, addressing a press conference on Wednesday, said: "Ali Dar had confirmed that he had bought 52 villas in the UAE, in a report by The News, [published] on December 30, 2017."

According to the report, Ali Dar had admitted that his company — Hazrat Data Sahib (HDS) — acquired 52 villas in the UAE in the early 2000s by pumping millions of dirhams into the real estate business but later sold out this property in 2008.

“The 52 villas were not bought, they were booked actually for business purpose in Dubai. Only a token payment of an estimated AED5 million per villa were paid and it is a common practice in the UAE,” Ali Dar told The News exclusively.

However, at that time both the father and son had strongly denied the allegations leveled by PTI that the business empire was established by laundering billions of rupees in transactions between Pakistan and Dubai.

Furthermore, according to the report, documents available with Geo News revealed that Dar and his sons once owned 13 offshore companies in Dubai.

Meanwhile, Gill said his press conference today was to expose what kind of people the PML-N leaders were. "They were used to the interviews with [certian] journalists where they would cut [some shots] of their interview."

The premier's aide said that Ishaq Dar's interview was an example of what Maryam Nawaz keeps saying: "Taangien kaanp jati hain (Their legs start shaking)".

"The most unfortunate aspect is that besides the fact they are corrupt, in the end, they are Pakistanis," he added.

Gill said that Dar had termed the premier a fascist — a label that the country's "enemies" are trying to impose on Pakistan. However, they have failed.

"Dar [in the interview] was unable to answer how PM Imran Khan is a fascist and the interviewer informed him that the incumbent prime minister was working with China, just like earlier leaders," he said.