KARACHI: Sadruddin Hashwani’s recently published book, which contains some serious allegations against former president Asif Ali Zardari, has disappeared from book outlets in Karachi, according to spokesman for the well-known businessman.

The spokesman termed it “a forceful removal” but did not mention any name for the move.

He said no such incident was reported from other parts of the country.

“We have reports of forceful removal of books from Karachi outlets. In other cities, the outlets ran out of stocks and ordered for more copies. The removal incident has only been reported from Karachi,” he remarked.

A couple of prominent outlets Dawn spoke to on Tuesday said the book had been “banned” and therefore its copies would no longer be available at the stores.

When it was pointed out that the book was never banned, an official at one of the stores said copies of the book were removed from the shelves because they contained derogatory remarks against some ‘influential national personalities’.

Mr Zardari has already served a legal notice for Rs1 billion on Mr Hashwani for “tarnishing his name and that of the PPP” in his book titled “Truth always prevails”.

The PPP co-chairman has also served notices on the publisher and distributor of the book — the Penguin Books in Haryana, India, and Liberty Books in Karachi.

In his book, Mr Hashwani has recalled what he has described as lifelong rivalry with Mr Zardari which began with a clash in a hotel’s discotheque three decades ago.

Published in Dawn, November 19th , 2014