Former President Asif Ali Zardari Friday questioned the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) jurisdiction over Park Lane Estate reference in his response against the questionnaire that was handed over to him by the NAB. Asif Ali Zardari took the stance in his reply that the NAB cannot take action against matters of private company according to the law.
The erstwhile president stated that the company was bought in 1989 from Sadruddin Hashwani in which Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Iqbal Memon, Rehmatullah, Muhammad Younus and Altaf Hussain were shareholders.
I owned just 25 percent shares of Park Lane Company and had resigned from its directorship before taking oath as president in 2008, he said. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman claimed that Bilawal Bhutto and he have no links with the Parthenon Company. He also maintained that he does not know about National Bank of Pakistan’s (NBP) Rs1.5 billion loan to the Parthenon Company.
Asif Ali Zardari will submit his reply to the NAB next week. It is worth mentioning here that the National Accountability Bureau had earlier handed over questionnaires comprising 54 questions each to Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in three cases including Park Lane Estate reference, and subsequently directed them to submit their response within 10 days.