Pakistan Belt and Road chief under pressure to resign

Corruption allegations spark rare criticism of point man in China relations

20200910 Pakistan Imran Khan Asim Saleem Bajwa

Tainted by a report into his family's business interests, Asim Saleem Bajwa, left, offered to resign as a special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan, right, but was turned down. (Source photos by Reuters/Getty Images) 

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer

KARACHI -- Asim Saleem Bajwa, the retired general who heads the powerful China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority -- the government agency that oversees China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Pakistan -- has come under pressure to resign after allegations of corruption in his family busineses surfaced.

According to an expose last month in Fact Focus, a Pakistani online news portal, growth of the Bajwa family's business interests tracked his military career. The story alleged that Bajwa, who is also special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan for information and broadcasting, used his influence to help his family amass huge wealth.

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