ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Monday extended physical remand of former president Asif Ali Zardari till July 29 in the Park Lane reference.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi sought extension in Zardari’s remand for further investigation into the case.
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.
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 Afterwards, when the amount was withdrawn in cash, no whereabouts of the company were found.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 March 20, the NAB Rawalpindi had handed over questionnaires comprising 54 questions each to Zardari and his son Bilawal in three cases including Park Lane Estate reference, and subsequently directed them to submit their response within 10 days.
