FBR Suspends Two Officers Connected With General Bajwa Data Leak

FBR Suspends Two Officers Connected With General Bajwa Data Leak
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has suspended two officers for their alleged involvement in the tax data leak of former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and his family members.

The officers, who have been identified as Zahoor Ahmed and Atif Nawaz Warraich, have been suspended for a period of 120 days, according to a notification issued by the FBR on Thursday.

The notification read, "In the exercise of powers, conferred under sub-rule (1) of the rule of the Civil Servants (Efficiency and Disciple) Rules, 2020, the Competent Authority i.e. Secretary Revenue/Chairman FBR has placed the two officers of BS-18 of Inland Revenue Service under suspension for a period of 120 days with immediate effect. The suspended officers are Zahoor Ahmad, (Admin Pool), FBR (Headquarters), Islamabad, and Atif Nawaz Warraich (Admin Pool), FBR (Headquarters), Islamabad."

One of the suspended officers, Atif Nawaz Warraich took print-outs of General Bajwa’s family member's FBR records on January 18, according to the FBR dashboard forensic, claims journalist Salman Masood.

Previously on November 20, an independent investigative journalism site Fact Focus released a report in which it documented COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s family and the wealth his family members had generated during his tenure.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar then took “serious notice” of the “illegal and unwarranted” tax leak of the former army chief, and instructed SAPM on Revenue. Mr. Tariq Mehmood Pasha to 'personally lead' an immediate investigation into the violation of tax law and breach of FBR data.