ISLAMABAD: Deputy Chairman of the Senate Saleem Mandviwalla on Friday filed an application in the accountability court, seeking permission to meet former president and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Asif Ali Zardari, who is in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Accountability judge Mohammad Bashir issued a notice to NAB and sought a reply on the application by July 29.

The judge remarked that an order on the application would be passed after hearing NAB’s authorities.

Mr Zardari has been in the custody of NAB since last month after the Islamabad High Court dismissed his petition seeking pre-arrest bail in the fake accounts case.

Subsequently, Mr Zardari withdrew his remaining petitions seeking pre-arrest bail in the Park Lane and bulletproof and armoured vehicles cases pending before the same bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.

Meanwhile, NAB has filed a fresh reference against 16 people, including Omni Group’s Abdul Ghani Majeed and former director general of the Sindh Building Control Authority Manzoor Qadir Kaka.

In the reference, NAB has alleged that the accused misused the authority and cheated public at large in allotment of plots on Nehr-i-Khayyam.

It is alleged that the accused received kickbacks from the buyers in lieu of illegal allotment.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2019