Web Desk(National Times)- Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has strongly criticised the country’s senior bureaucracy, claiming that a large number of officials are purchasing properties in Portugal in a bid to eventually settle abroad. In a statement posted on X, the minister alleged that more than half of the bureaucracy is quietly investing in Portugal and preparing to acquire citizenship there. He accused them of planning a comfortable retirement using money made through corruption. He also alleged that one bureaucrat, known to be close to former chief minister Usman Buzdar, received Rs4 billion in Salami alone at his daughter’s wedding. In comparison, the defence minister said politicians are treated unfairly. “Politicians only get what is left over by them (bureaucrats) and still get blamed for everything,” he said, adding that most politicians do not own plots or foreign citizenship because they have to face the public and contest elections. Calling the actions of these bureaucrats shameful, Asif said, “This bureaucracy is polluting our land.”