Co-Chairman Pakistan People’s Party and former President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari is in further trouble as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued arrest warrants for him in Park Lane case. He is already under arrest since mid-June when NAB raided his residence and moved him to NAB’s Rawalpindi office.
Chairman NAB Justice (R) Javed Iqbal issued the warrant under National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, under which the accused can be arrested at any time. NAB is planning to keep Zardari under custody for longer and the subject warrant is issued as a back-up plan. His physical remands will be ending tomorrow, and the bureau would use this warrant to get the custody if the court decides not to extend the remand any further.
On June 26 last week, he took his bail applications back from Islamabad High Court on Wednesday in three pending cases. Commenting that he is confident to face the cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as he had already spent time in jail while facing similar politically motivated cases in the past. He added that the bail would be of no use as, if he goes out, NAB would file new cases to put him back in. “False cases have been filed against me. I know what my actual crimes were and why I stand before you today. I am no stranger to injustice. I have spent many years in prison and am ready to bear this injustice too. It’s all part of the game and I have endured difficulties in the past as well. I will fight for democracy again.”, he said.
Claiming that the cases are fake, he commented that, “The prosecution says that I bought the Park Lane Company. There are no documents on which I have signed in the capacity of its director. I also have no connection with the Toshakhana case. I was also implicated in a BMW case.”