The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to file a corruption reference against former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the Pink Residency case, a local news outlet reported on Sunday.
Reportedly, the approval will be granted by the Executive Board Meeting (EMB) of the anti-graft watchdog in the coming week after which the reference will be filed in an accountability court in the federal capital
The reference will follow the ongoing investigation against Aftab Ahmed Memon – secretary of the Land Utilisation Department of Sindh Board of Revenue and a close aide to Zardari – who is under the custody of the NAB in a case pertaining to illegal allotment of 17 acres of land in the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) Scheme in favour of M/S Pink Residency and others.
Earlier on March 8, the accountability court of Islamabad remanded Memon in the custody of the NAB for 13 days for investigation in his alleged involvement in the illegal allotment of land. The illegal regularisation cost the national treasury a loss of more than Rs800 million in terms of land value.
NAB alleged that Memon “in connivance and collaboration” with other members of the Sindh Government Lands Committee, committed offences that fall under Section 9 of the NAB Ordinance, 1999, that is related to corruption and corrupt practices.
Besides, the bureau has also been probing Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for corruption, money laundering, misuse of authority and malpractices in the fake accounts and the Park Lane Estate. However, references on the other probes will be filed once the investigation process is concluded.
