Asif Zardari has ’32 benami properties’, govt to take action

Nayyar Bukhari says ‘selected govt is running media trial’ instead of presenting evidence in courts

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on Tuesday said the government would take legal action against 32 benami companies of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Addressing a press conference along with Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, the PM’s special assistant said the action would be taken against benami properties as per the law of the country and the money recovered from such properties and companies would be deposited to the national exchequer.

Both made it clear that the government would continue taking action against money laundering, benami properties.

They said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would now receive the briefing on fortnightly and monthly basis.

Shahzad Akbar said as per law, all benami properties of Zardari would be confiscated if he failed to produce documents concerning the legality of such properties within 60 days.

Sharing details, he said these benami companies included sugar mills, trading companies, construction companies, cement factory, automobile manufacturing companies, holding companies, consulting firms, gas companies etc.

Moreover, he claimed several benami plots in posh areas of Karachi had also been identified. He said the JIT [joint investigation team] report had pointed out that Asif Zardari “remained involved in toppling the state system by establishing even a bank without implementing legal formalities and paying capital”.

He claimed that when in 2013-14, the State Bank of Pakistan had asked for paying of capital, they paid it in local account from fake companies. He said so far four references were filed against him out of the expected 30 references.

Akbar said the government had started taking action in line with the Benami Act 2017, as earlier it was inactive due to the absence of rules which now had been formulated by the government.

He said the government would soon start confiscating the properties of sons and sons-in-law of Sharif family who had been declared proclaimed offenders by the court.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Zaidi said the country’s wealth was shifted to abroad through money laundering causing a huge loss to the national exchequer.

He said Asif Zardari had established sugar mills and other properties by threatening the people, adding Uzair Baloch had also accepted that Asif Zardari had made all the properties and assets by using his influence and threatening the people.

PPP HITS BACK AT GOVT:

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Nayyar Bukhari said that the selected prime minister has miserably failed in running the country and the selected government was making noise of accountability just to divert attention from hunger, price hike and unemployment and people’s sufferings.

Reacting to the press conference of Shahzad Akbar and Ali Zaidi, he said that such stories and propaganda have failed to befool the people of Pakistan.

Nayyar Bukhari said that the selected government instead of presenting evidence in the courts against Asif Ali Zardari is running a media trial campaign against PPP leadership.

“Such campaign was also run by Saifur Rehman in the past and today Saifur Rehman is in the dust bin of history,” he added.