ISLAMABAD July 27 (TNS): Ahsan Iqbal, who oversees the PCEC, has also been found to be a holder of work permit of Saudi Arabia.
He is the fourth cabinet member to have held a foreign work permit, the others being PM Nawaz Sharif, Khawaja Asif, the defense minister, and Ishaq Dar, the Finance Minister, holders of Iqama of the UAE.
According to media reports, Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning and Development, obtained Iqama from a Madina-based firm. Many attempts to contact him went in vain.
However, according to the media reports, he has confirmed that he held the kingdom’s work/residence permit for two years.
“I worked in Madina Munawarah 2004-06 afterwards retained Iqama without receiving any compensation for frequent travel hence no illegal act,” he said in a Twitter message.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, a spokesman for the planning and development ministry said Mr Iqbal had served as an adviser to the governor of Madina from 2004 to 2006 on a digital economy project.
It claimed that the minister had not taken any salary for the project since 2006, adding that he had declared his Iqama in his ‘documents’ in 2013.
The spokesman said Mr Iqbal was not doing business in any foreign country and after the expiry of his Iqama it was not renewed.
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