Asim Saleem Bajwa

Lieutenant General (Retired) Asim Saleem Bajwa (Urdu/Punjabi: عاصم سلیم باجوہ) is a retired Pakistani three-star general who is serving as the Chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority since November 2019 and served as the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting from 28 April 2020 to 12 October 2020. On 11 December 2016, Bajwa was appointed as Inspector General Arms at GHQ, where he served until his appointment to the key position of Commander Southern Command & XII Corps (Pakistan) in September 2017. Previously, he also served as Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), from 2012 to 2016 preceding Major Gen. Asif Ghafoor Now Lieutenant General.[1][2]

Asim Saleem Bajwa
عاصم سلیم باجوہ
Chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority
Assumed office
November 2019
PresidentArif Alvi
Prime MinisterImran Khan
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting
In office
28 April 2020 – 12 October 2020
PresidentArif Alvi
Prime MinisterImran Khan
MinisterShibli Faraz
Preceded byFirdous Ashiq Awan (as Special Assistant)
Commander Southern Command & XII Corps (Pakistan)
In office
September 2017 – September 2019
Inspector General Arms (General Headquarters)
In office
December 2016 – September 2017
Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations
In office
June 2012 – December 2016
Preceded byAthar Abbas
Succeeded byAsif Ghafoor
Personal details
Born5 December
Sadiqabad
Spouse(s)Ms. Farrukh Zeba
Alma materPakistan Military Academy
AwardsTamgha-e-Basalat
Hilal-e-Imtiaz
Military service
Allegiance Pakistan
Branch/service Pakistan Army
Years of service1984–2019
Rank Lieutenant-General

Education and background

Bajwa was commissioned in the 34th Punjab Regiment in 1984 after being passed out from the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul.[2] He graduated from the Command and Staff College in Quetta, as well as the National Defence University (NDU) in Islamabad, followed by the Staff College, Camberley.[2] He holds master's degrees in war studies from National Defence University, Islamabad and defence studies from King's College London.[2]

Military career

Bajwa held a range of command, staff and instructional appointments.

During his military career, Asim Bajwa has served on multiple Instructional and Command-Level posts, such as leading an Anti-Tank Battalion, the 111th Infantry Brigade and an infantry division[2] in erstwhile Tribal Areas where he played a key role in stabilization efforts during various operations.

He was a Brigade Major of an infantry brigade and served as Chief of Staff of a Strike Corps.

He instructed courses at PMA Kakul and the Command and Staff College, Quetta. General Bajwa has served as the Deputy Military Secretary to the President of Pakistan.[2] Bajwa assisted General Pervez Musharraf in compiling his book In the Line of Fire.[3]

In December 2010, he was promoted to the rank of a Major General. On 4 June 2012, Bajwa was appointed as the Director General of the ISPR.[3][2]

On 22 September 2015, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.[4]

Lt. Gen. Asim Salim Bajwa, was appointed Inspector General Arms (IG Arms) at GHQ on 11 December 2016 until 28 September 2017. Then he was appointed Commander Southern Command of the Pakistan Army where he served from 2017 until 2019.[5] He was instrumental in kick-starting and fast-tracking of numerous development initiatives in Balochistan.

He is the recipient of Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Tamgha-e-Basalat.

Post-Retirement Civil career

After his retirement from Army, Bajwa was appointed as Chairman CPEC Authority as of November 26th, 2019.[6] Establishment Division notified Bajwa as Chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority for a tenure of four years.[7]

Political career

In April 2020 Asim Bajwa was appointed as Special Advisor to Prime Minister (Imran Khan) on Information and Broadcasting.[8] The SAPM[9] are political appointments made by sole discretion of Prime Minister and have the rank of Minister of The State of Pakistan. Accomplished civilians with no political affiliations can also be appointed SAPM.

Asim Bajwa announced that he intends to resign from his post as Special Advisor to PM for Information and Broadcasting on 3rd September 2020,[10] during interview with journalist on ARY News Channel. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan rejected his resignation.[11] On 12 October 2020, his resignation as Special Assistant to Prime Minister was accepted by Prime Minister Imran Khan.[12] [13]

Controversy

During the All-Parties Conference held on 20th September 2020, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif alleged that Asim Bajwa plotted to topple the Baluchistan government while still in uniform and serving as Commander Southern Command.[14]He was also responsible for introducing Baluchistan Awami Party.[15]

Assets declaration controversy

As a Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, Bajwa's asset declarations were made public[16] on the Cabinet Division website public.[17] He came under scrutiny for the valuations quoted and was top Twitter trending in Pakistan on July 19, 2020. Some of the dubious figures included 65 acres land for just Rs. 105000; and Toyota ZX 2016 valued at Rs. 3 million, a fraction of original value of the car.[18]

Family Assets Growth controversy

On 27 August 2020, an investigative report[19] on FactFocus by journalist Ahmed Noorani, correlated assets of Asim Bajwa's wife and sons, along with his Military appointments and career growth under Military Dictator and President Pervez Musharraf, and then his appointment as Chairman CPEC Authority. Documents in the report listed ownership of 133 Papa John's franchises in the USA and UAE, together with several other properties in the USA, Canada, UAE, and Pakistan..[20]

Asim Bajwa initially rejected the report completely.[21] On 3rd September he admitted parts of the report[22] and downplayed the numbers, strength and details of Business entities and Shares in the name of his Wife and Sons. He also indicated that his Wife's share of business assets outside Pakistan was divested and fully liquidated on 1st June 2020,[23] prior to his Assets Declaration on 22 April 2020.[24] According to Bajwa, the number of companies was not 99 but actually 31, the rest of companies were shell or representative companies in different regions. He further stated that all the companies purported to belong to his sons and wife, were either dormant since the formation, did a business of less than Rs. 500,000, were perpetually in loss, some were only registered as Sole Proprietorship with FBR, or never opened an office and any bank accounts. He promised to provide Money Trail and supporting documents to explain initial investments by his Wife, overseas Transfer of funds for business, Financial support to 3 sons studying in US schools and their business entrepreneurship.

Nadeem Bajwa, Faisal Bajwa[25] and Malik Bajwa[26] together are listed Principals of Bajco Global Management LLC in Canfield, OH.[27] Bajco Global Management LLC was incorporated in 2007, before Bajwa became a military general, it has a revenue of US$ 69.85m and 1800 employees, operates 11 Subsidiaries and 75 companies as the Parent company, as of 3 September 2020.

Asim Bajwa's brother Nadeem Bajwa[28] is a successful businessman and is the Chief Executive Officer of BajCo Group LLC.[29] BajCo owns several Papa John's outlets as well as Dairy Queen.

On 23rd September 2020, the SECP (Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan) issued a summons notification to individuals allegedly involved[30] in the data leak.

Personal life

A member of the Bajwa clan, Asim Bajwa is married to Farrukh Zeba and has three children with her. His hobbies include reading and playing golf.[2]

His sons are Muhammad Bajwa,[31] Eusha Bajwa, and Azib Bajwa.[32] Asim Bajwa has mentioned in his response[33] to FactFocus report that his sons are graduates of US business schools.

Gen. Asim Bajwa (retd.) with his wife Farrukh Zeba

Awards

Bajwa has been decorated with the Tamgha-i-Basalat and Hilal-i-Imtiaz for his military services.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Army reshuffle: Lt Gen Asim Bajwa posted commander Southern Command". The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 28 September 2017, Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. "Director General ISPR Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa HI (M)". Inter-Services Public Relations. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  3. Shakil Shaikh. "Bajwa made DG ISPR in high-level military reshuffle" The News, 28 April 2012
  4. "Bajwa, three others promoted to Lt Gen rank". Samaa. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  5. http://www.dawn.com/news/1301868
  6. Akbar, Tahreen (2 December 2019). "Establishment Div Notification of Asim Bajwa CPEC Authority Chairman" (PDF). Establishment Division Federal Government of Pakistan. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  7. Yasin, Aamir (27 November 2019). "Asim Bajwa made chairman of newly created CPEC Authority". Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  8. Tajammal, Taimur (27 April 2020). "29-04-2020 Cabinet Division Asim Bajwa Notification" (PDF). Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  9. "Cabinet Division". www.cabinet.gov.pk. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  10. Dawn.com (3 September 2020). "Asim Bajwa to resign as SAPM on information, remain CPEC Authority chairman". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  11. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2262503/pm-imran-rejects-asim-bajwas-resignation-as-sapm
  12. "Asim Saleem Bajwa resigns as PM Imran Khan's special assistant".
  13. "Asim Bajwa Stepped Down From Post, PM Imran Approves Resignation".
  14. "'APC a Turning Point for Pakistan'". Newsweek. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  15. https://www.dawn.com/news/1580984/opposition-leaders-told-not-to-drag-military-into-politics
  16. "Govt releases asset details of PM Imran's special assistants, advisers". Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  17. Bajwa, Asim (22 June 2020). "Assets Declaration Asim Bajwa" (PDF). Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  18. Book, Kelley Blue (3 September 2020). "Used Car Prices - 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser CX". Kelley Blue Book. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  19. "Bajwa family business empire grew in four countries in sync with Asim Bajwa's rise in military". Facts Focus. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  20. "'99 companies, over 130 restaurants': Asim Saleem Bajwa rejects 'malicious' news about family assets". Daily Pakistan. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  21. Bajwa, Asim (27 August 2020). "malicious propaganda ... is strongly rebutted". Twitter. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  22. Bajwa, Asim (3 September 2020). "I strongly rebut the baseless ..." Twitter. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  23. Bajwa, Asim (3 September 2020). "Press Release response to FactFocus report". Twitter. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  24. http://www.cabinet.gov.pk/SiteImage/Misc/files/Federal%20Cabinet/LOSAPM/SAPM%20Assets/Asim_Bajawa_Assets_new.pdf
  25. LinkedIn, Faisal Bajwa (3 September 2020). "Faisal Bajwa (99+) | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  26. LinkedIn, Malik Bajwa (3 September 2020). "Malik Bajwa (99+) | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  27. Bradstreet, Dunn & (1 January 2007). "Bajco Global Management LLC Company Profile | Canfield, OH | Competitors, Financials & Contacts - Dun & Bradstreet". D&B dnb.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  28. "Nadeem Bajwa". LinkedIn. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  29. LinkedIn, Bajco Group | Groups | (1 September 2020). "Bajco Group | Groups | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  30. https://www.dawn.com/news/1581132/secp-issues-notices-to-eight-officers-over-data-leak
  31. LinkedIn, Muhammad Bajwa (3 September 2020). "Muhammad Bajwa". LinkedIn. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  32. LinkedIn, Azib Bajwa (3 September 2020). "Azib Bajwa | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  33. Bajwa, Asim (3 September 2020). "response to FactFocus report". Twitter. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
Military offices
Preceded by
Athar Abbas		 Director General of the ISPR
2012 –		 Succeeded by
Asif Ghafoor
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