KARACHI- Farkhand Iqbal, the former chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), was detained by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday in connection with the Park Lane case.
The ex-chief was apprehended in Rawalpindi on suspicion of handing over 118 kanals of government land to the Park Lane business.
On August 10, 2020, a video connection was used to accuse Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the Park Lane case.
Zardari told the court, “I’ve had charges against me for 20 years.”
During the hearing, the PPP leader pled not guilty to the charges and requested that the judge put in the order that there was no defence counsel, to which the judge replied that you don’t need a lawyer to hear the accusations mentioned in the charge sheet.
Zardari told the court, “I’ve had charges against me for 20 years.”
Zardari’s appeal to withdraw his plea in exchange for an acquittal and dismissal of the case was also denied by the court. The former president’s appeal challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear this case was likewise denied.
Former President Asif Ali Zardari was freed on medical grounds in December 2019 after an accountability court in Islamabad issued separate robkars [mandamuses] against him in the Park Lane Estate Company and money laundering through false bank accounts cases.
The National Bank of Australia (NAB) is undertaking investigations in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the billions of dollars in money laundering through false accounts case, where it forwarded the joint investigation team (JIT) report with instructions to investigate and submit references.
Zardari has denied any involvement in the scam on several occasions. Zardari, who was previously imprisoned for 11 years for corruption, resigned down from the presidency in 2013. He was never popular and was constantly surrounded by scandal. He has, however, remained as co-chairman of the opposition PPP.