ISLAMABAD: The accountability court of Islamabad on Tuesday handed over the custody of former president Asif Ali Zardari to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on a 13-day physical remand in the Park Lane case.

Mr Zardari, co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was already in the custody of NAB since June 10 after the Islamabad High Court dismissed his pre-arrest bail petition in the fake accounts case which was transferred from the banking court of Karachi to Islamabad’s accountability court on the direction of the Supreme Court.

Later on, Mr Zardari withdrew his pre-arrest bail pending before the same bench of Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani in the Park Lane and luxury and armoured vehicles cases.

Subsequently, NAB arrested Mr Zardari in the Park Lane case on July 1.

As per the prosecution, the Park Lane land case is being investigated under different sections of the NAO 1999 and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010 for Mr Zardari’s alleged involvement in extending loan and its misappropriation by M/s Parthenon Private Limited, M/s Park Lane Estate Private Limited and others.

The same court extended the remand of Mr Zardari in the fake accounts case till July 15.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd , 2019