The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi on Monday produced former president Asif Ali Zardari before an accountability court, seeking extension in his physical remand for further investigation into the Park Lane reference.
Zardari was scheduled to appear before accountability court judge Arshad Malik; however after the removal of the judge from his position till the investigation into a controversial video of him with PML-N’s Nasir Butt, a duty judge will preside over the hearing today.
Meanwhile, police have ensured strict security arrangements outside the judicial complex and the adjoining roads are blocked for routine traffic. The litigant public is also denied entry towards the courthouse.
On July 2, the court extended Zardari’s remand for another 13 days in the same case.
According to details, the Park Lane case is being investigated under different sections of the National Accountability Ordinance, NAO 1999, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, for Zardari’s alleged involvement in extending loan and its misappropriation by M/s Parthenon Private Limited.
Allegedly, the Park Lane company was falsely presented as Parthenon (Pvt) Limited for taking a staggering loan of Rs1.5 billion from the National Bank of Pakistan. Afterwards, when the amount was withdrawn in cash, no whereabouts of the company were found.
On June 10, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected bail applications of Zardari and his sibling Faryal Talpur, after which both of them were arrested by the NAB.
