Daily Times

Former President and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) supremo Asif Ali Zardari was arrested in the Park Lane case as well on Monday after National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal approved his warrants in the case.

The former president is already in the NAB detention in the fake bank accounts case after his bail was rejected by the Islamabad High Court last month.

NAB has accused the former president of purchasing 2,460 kanal land in a posh locality in Islamabad through Park Lane Estate (Pvt) Ltd in March 2009. In 1997, the NAB had dropped a case against Zardari pertaining to the same property over lack of evidence. The property worth Rs 2 billion was acquired in Rs 620 million, NAB sources said.

The former president is likely to be presented before an accountability court on Tuesday.

In June, the NAB had arrested Zardari from the federal capital in the fake bank accounts case which pertains to transactions worth over Rs 35 billion to the private companies allegedly through fake bank accounts.

NAB investigators are of the view that if Zardari’s physical remand, which ends today, is not extended by the court, they will require another option and can use the arrest warrants in the Park Lane case to keep him in NAB custody for longer.

On June 26, Zardari had withdrawn his bail applications in three cases saying he knew why he was suffering and ‘does not want to embarrass anyone’.