ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday summoned former president Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in the Park Lane Estate inquiry.
The accountability watchdog had initiated an inquiry against Zardari and Bilawal in connection to the allegations that Park Lane Estate Company (Pvt) Ltd — a Karachi-based real estate firm co-owned by the father-son duo — along with government officials were behind the illegal forest land transfer.
According to a NAB spokesperson, Zardari had acquired the company illegally through a front man, Iqbal Memon, in 1989. In 2009, the father-son duo became shareholders of the company.
Zardari and Bilawal have been told to appear before the NAB bureau in Rawalpindi
“Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto have a stake of 25 per cent each in the company,” the NAB spokesperson said and added that the former president had the authority to use the company accounts at his discretion as the firm’s director.
The company documents dating back to 2008 show Zardari’s signatures on them as the director, according to the spokesperson.
The NAB official said Faryal Talpur has not been summoned to the NAB office as yet.
On Friday, PPP spokesperson Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar denied that Bilawal or Zardari had received any notices from the Bureau.
Adviser to Chief Minister of Sindh on Information Murtaza Wahab repeated today that neither Bilawal nor Zardari had received any notices from NAB, and that NAB seemed to be attempting to “harass” the two by issuing statements to the contrary.
“Has NAB been reduced to character assassination only?” the CM’s adviser asked.