NAB requests security arrangements ahead of Bilawal, Zardari's appearance before probe team

Published March 19, 2019
Former president Asif Ali Zardari (R) and his son PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. — DawnNewsTV/File
Former president Asif Ali Zardari (R) and his son PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. — DawnNewsTV/File

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday wrote to the Islamabad chief commissioner and the capital police chief requesting security arrangments ahead of former president Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's appearance before a Combine Investigation Team (CIT).

The letter written by NAB Additional Director (Staff) Muhammad Saleem Ahmed Khan to the capital authorities said "it is intimated" that Zardari and Bilawal would appear before the CIT on March 20 (tomorrow).

It said the PPP leaders are to appear "in connection with [an] investigation regarding Fake Bank Accounts Scam."

In that regard, the letter requested that "necessary security arrangments" be made at the NAB headquarters in Islamabad as well as at NAB Rawalpindi.

On Saturday, a spokesperson for NAB had told DawnNewsTV that the bureau had summoned Bilawal and Zardari to appear before it in Rawalpindi in connection with the Park Lane Estate case.

However, the letter written by the NAB official to Islamabad authorities today only mentioned the "Fake Bank Accounts Scam".

When asked for a clarification, NAB sources only said the notices sent to the father-son duo had "mentioned why they were being summoned".

NAB had initiated an inquiry against the two PPP leaders in pursuance of allegations that the Park Lane Estate Company (Pvt) Ltd — a Karachi-based real estate firm co-owned by Zardari and Bilawal — along with government officials was behind the illegal transfer of 118.4 kanals of forest land to the firm.

Earlier today, the Sindh High Court had granted Zardari a 10-day protective bail in the Park Lane Estate Company case after hearing a petition by the former president which said that he feared arrest by NAB.

Opinion

Editorial

Rigging claims
Updated 04 May, 2024

Rigging claims

The PTI’s allegations are not new; most elections in Pakistan have been controversial, and it is almost a given that results will be challenged by the losing side.
Gaza’s wasteland
04 May, 2024

Gaza’s wasteland

SINCE the start of hostilities on Oct 7, Israel has put in ceaseless efforts to depopulate Gaza, and make the Strip...
Housing scams
04 May, 2024

Housing scams

THE story of illegal housing schemes in Punjab is the story of greed, corruption and plunder. Major players in these...
Under siege
Updated 03 May, 2024

Under siege

Whether through direct censorship, withholding advertising, harassment or violence, the press in Pakistan navigates a hazardous terrain.
Meddlesome ways
03 May, 2024

Meddlesome ways

AFTER this week’s proceedings in the so-called ‘meddling case’, it appears that the majority of judges...
Mass transit mess
03 May, 2024

Mass transit mess

THAT Karachi — one of the world’s largest megacities — does not have a mass transit system worth the name is ...