Daily Times

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to appear before its Rawalpindi investigation team on February 13 in the JV Opal-255 case. According to details, the accountability watchdog has ordered Bilawal to bring all record of the Zardari Group from 2008 till 2019, and a list of board of directors of the company. The PPP chairman has been accused of withdrawing Rs 1.22 billion from a fake account for his private company.

Bilawal has claimed that he was young at that time, but contrary to his statement, the audit report contains his signature. The NAB has obtained an audit report and documents containing his signature. For the same case, NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal had approved converting that inquiry into an investigation, and the bureau summoned Bilawal for the fourth time. However, Bilawal has appeared before the investigation team only once.

According to NAB, Bilawal had 25 percent shares in a private firm, Opal-225, a joint venture of the Zardari Group. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday given National Accountability Bureau (NAB) until February 13 to submit its response in two separate post-arrest bail pleas filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal. A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah was hearing petitions of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal’s post-arrest bail.

The bench adjourned the hearing till February 13 and warned the anti-graft watchdog that the court would not entertain request for any more delay.