‘Zardari’s father wanted petrol pump – PTDC fails to build tourism village

ISLAMABAD: Despite the passage of 27 years, the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has been unable to construct a tourism village at the National Park in Rawalpindi as Hakim Ali Zardari, senior politician and father of President Asif Ali Zardari, wanted to establish a petrol pump on the land in question, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was informed on Thursday.
In a meeting of the special committee of PAC held under its convener Zahid Hamid, the members took note of a contract awarded to the Zardari Group – owned by Zardari’s father – for constructing a tourist village at the National Park, Rawalpindi. Later, PAC sought a report from the Tourism Ministry in this regard.
Audit officials told the committee that the Tourism Corporation had decided to establish a tourist village at National Park in 1977. After that, PTDC and a private company, Tourist Village Limited (TVL), owned by Zafar Khan, launched a joint venture and took land from the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board on lease.
After issuing the tender, the audit officials told the committee, Tourism Corporation and TVL awarded the contract to Zardari Group in 1983 to construct the village but the group’s chairman, Hakim Ali Zardari, instead of constructing a tourist village, tried to construct a petrol pump on the said land.
The TVL objected to the construction of a petrol pump, and during Musharraf’s regime, the company raised the issue with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The proceedings against Zardari Group were stopped after the issuance of NRO on October 5, 2007.
The audit officials told the committee that after Supreme Court’s verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the case against Hakim had been reopened in NAB. On it, the committee sought a complete report by the Tourism Ministry in this regard.
Gun Club: The audit officials further told PAC that the Gun Club had been established on a 300-acre land adjoined to the Sports Complex, in violation of the rules and regulations. PAC also took note of the situation and directed it to present the report within a month.