–PPP co-chairman pleads high court to declare he has no association with company
KARACHI: Former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday moved the Sindh High Court (SHC) in the Park Lane Company case, denying any association with the construction company.
In his plea, the PPP co-chairman stated: “I owned only 25 per cent shares of the Park Lane Company, and in 2008, had resigned from its directorship before taking oath as the president of Pakistan.”
“The Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) was informed about the decision,” Zardari said in his petition, pleading the court to declare that he has no association with the company.
Earlier, in his written response to National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Zardari had maintained that NAB has no jurisdiction pertaining to the Park Lane Estate case, as, according to the National Accountability Ordinance, the accountability watchdog was not liable to investigate the matters of a private company.
In December last year, NAB had said that an inquiry was initiated against Park Lane Estate Company (Pvt) Ltd and officers of Capital Development Authority on allegation of illegal transfer of state land. According to a NAB press release, CDA illegally allotted 118 kanal and 14 marla land of Punjab Forest Department to M/s Park Lane Estate Company (Pvt) Ltd.
It said that former president Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari were 50 per cent shareholders of the company.
The manager, attorney holder and director of the company were repeatedly summoned, but they willfully avoided joining the proceedings of NAB, the statement had added.