ISLAMABAD: As the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned former president and leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party Asif Ali Zardari in yet another case, the opposition party MNA termed the move an attempt to malign his reputation and filed a petition before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to get pre-arrest bail.

A division bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq will hear the plea on Tuesday (today).

The bureau issued a call-up notice to the former president on June 15, asking him to appear before NAB team on June 24 in connection with investigation into the ownership of an apartment in New York.

The notice served on him at his Islamabad and Karachi residences stated that in addition to Mr Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and others who allegedly owned the flat at Belaire, S24 East 72 Street, 37F, Manhattan, New York, the US, were being probed.

“The competent authority has taken cognisance of offences allegedly committed by the subject accused [Mr Zardari and others] under the provision of section 9 (a) of National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, and section 3 of Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.

“The subject inquiry has revealed that you are in ownership of an apartment at the Belaire…However, this property does not figured out in the disclosure made by you in Pakistan. Moreover, there appears no lawful remittance by you from Pakistan for the acquisition of the said property as well,” the notice stated.

The former president through his counsel Farooq H. Naek contended in the petition that the call up notice was issued on the behest of Pakistan Thereek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.

The petitioner termed the call up notice as “baseless” and an attempt to malign him. It rejected NAB’s claim that Mr Zardari was the owner of New York property and stated that it was issued to harass him and to damage his repute.

According to the petition, the respondents NAB chairman Javed Iqbal, director general Irfan Mangi and others are against the former president as “there is history of victimization at the hands of NAB.”

It said the call-up notice was issued “without sufficient material”.

In his petition, the former president said he had been suffering from multiple ailments and repeated confinement made his medical condition worst. As per petition, the medical boards constituted to ascertain his condition had confirmed the aliments and as a consequence he had been granted bail in another NAB case.

The petition stated that Mr Zardari had been hospitalized time and again and due to ongoing Covid-19 pandemic he was under special care of doctor.

In his petition, the ex-president expressed the apprehension of being arrested like past and requested the court to grant him an interim bail till the final decision of the case.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2021