Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, spokesperson of the Pakistan People’s Party chairman, on Saturday sought to clarify questions about the value of Bilawal House in Karachi, saying the property was valued at Rs 3 million in the 1990s when Bilawal Bhutto Zardari received it in inheritance.
“We have noticed that a lot is being said regarding Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto’s asset details. The PPP would like to clarify a few things,” he said while reacting to reports concerning Bilawal Bhutto’s asset details.
“PPP chairman submitted income tax returns for the last three years with all his nomination papers. All properties and businesses that have been declared by Mr Chairman were inherited from his family,” the spokesperson said.
“As for those questioning how Bilawal House in Karachi is worth Rs3 million, it should be mentioned that Section 116 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, says: ‘All assets [whether purchased or inherited] should be valued at cost’. The PPP chairman inherited the Bilawal House in the early nineties and at that time, it was valued at Rs 3 million.”
Senator Khokhar also said that around 70 candidates were contesting against Chairman Bilawal Bhutto in all three constituencies that he was contesting from. Copies of his nomination papers were taken by all other contesting candidates, including those from the PTI, JUI, MQM, PML-N, MMA, etc, and none of them raised any legal objections whatsoever, he said.
The spokesperson said that the PPP chairman has followed the law in letter and spirit while filing his nomination papers. “We respect the law of the land and believe in transparency,” he said.
