Asim Saleem Bajwa

Asim Saleem Bajwa HI(M) TBt (Urdu, Punjabi: عاصم سلیم باجوہ) is a retired Pakistani three-star general who served as the chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority from November 2019 to August 2021 and the special assistant to then Prime Minister Imran Khan on the Ministry of 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 position of Commander Southern Command and XII Corps in September 2017. Previously, he also served as Director General of the ISPR from 2012 to 2016.

In April 2020, Bajwa was appointed as Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting. Later in an interview on 3 September 2020, Bajwa announced his resignation from his post as Special Advisor to the PM for Information and Broadcasting. However, prime minister Imran Khan refused to accept his resignation. On 12 October 2020, his resignation as SAPM was finally accepted by the Prime Minister.

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

As a Special Assistant to prime minister Imran Khan's government, Bajwa's asset declarations were made public on the Cabinet Division website public. 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.

On 27 August 2020, an investigative report 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 US and the UAE, together with several other properties in the US, Canada, UAE, and Pakistan.

Asim Bajwa initially rejected the report completely. On 3 September he admitted parts of the report 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 1 June 2020, prior to his assets declaration on 22 April 2020. 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 and Malik Bajwa together are listed Principals of Bajco Global Management LLC in Canfield, OH. 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.

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

In November 2019, after his retirement from the army, Bajwa was appointed as the chairman of the newly created CPEC Authority. Establishment Division notified Bajwa as chairman of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority for a tenure of four years. His duties in CPEC project especially his role to focus on development of Balochistan province is visible as Gwadar is emerging as an important regional trade hub.

In December 2016, Bajwa was appointed Inspector General Arms (IG Arms) at General Headquarters where he served until 28 September 2017. In September 2017, he was appointed Commander Southern Command of the Pakistan Army where he served until 2019. He was instrumental in numerous development initiatives in Balochistan.

On 4 June 2012, Bajwa was appointed as the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations. On 22 September 2015, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

During his military career, he served on multiple instructional and command-level posts, such as leading an anti-tank battalion, the 111th Infantry Brigade and an infantry division in erstwhile Tribal Areas where he played a key role in stabilization efforts during various operations.

In December 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Major General.

Asim Saleem Bajwa was born in Saqibabad, Punjab. He belongs to the Bajwa sub clan of the Jatt tribe. He was commissioned in the 34th Punjab Regiment in 1984 after being passed out from the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul. He graduated from the Command and Staff College in Quetta, as well as the National Defence University in Islamabad, followed by the Staff College, Camberley. He holds a master's degrees in war studies from National Defence University, Islamabad and defence studies from King's College London.