Bilawal appears before graft watchdog, father skips out

Police and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers clashed yesterday as party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Islamabad in relation to the fake accounts case.Former president Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal were to appear separately before the NAB yesterday, but only the latter turned up.A joint NAB interrogation team questioned Bhutto Zardari for 30 minutes, after which he left the NAB headquarters.Sources informed that Bhutto Zardari was handed a questionnaire by the NAB team.In the questionnaire, he was asked 32 questions, which he has to respond to by June 12.Sources said that Bhutto Zardari was questioned regarding the accounts of Zardari Group of companies.Earlier upon Bhutto Zardari’s arrival at the NAB headquarters, PPP workers chanted slogans in his favour.Police used water cannon to stop them from moving forward.At D-chowk, PPP workers and police clashed: officers baton-charged party workers at several places, and also made arrests later on.Earlier, former president Zardari excused himself from appearing before the NAB in relation to the fake accounts case, sources informed.This will be the second time that the PPP leader had excused himself from being present before the NAB.The NAB is due to decide about the former president’s absence, sources said.Earlier, in preparation for the likely arrival of the PPP leaders in the capital, the Islamabad administration banned the entry of jiyalas in the federal capital.The city administration issued orders that PPP workers from other cities be prevented from entering the federal capital, explaining that the presence of party workers can lead to chaos.The administration sealed the entry routes to Islamabad in order to stop PPP workers from arriving.PPP leaders and workers were also stopped from reaching Zardari House.Bhutto Zardari, before leaving, expressed gratitude to his supporters for the messages of support, tweeting: “Despite (former) CJ (Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib) Nisar announcing that I am innocent, the government has no tolerance for constructive criticism and opposition voices, continue to persecute political opponents. Luckily I’ve had a lot of practice.”In another tweet, the PPP leader refuted calls for a protest: “Despite no official call to protest, party workers have begun to reach Islamabad. In violation of every Pakistanis democratic rights of freedom of assembly, (the) panicked government released a midnight notification to harass opponents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Islamabad. Dartay hain Tabdelee walay.”The NAB had summoned Zardari and his son separately in the fake accounts case.The graft watchdog had summoned them to record their statements in the fake accounts case.The accountability bureau summoned the former president for a second time for questioning in the investigation of corruption cases involving power projects and awarding of illegal contracts.The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and his son.Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July last year in connection with the probe.The former president’s close aide and Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son, Abdul Ghani, were arrested by the FIA in August 2018.Over 20 benami accounts at some private banks were opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015, from where transactions worth billions of rupees were made, according to sources.The amount, according to FIA sources, is said to be “black” money gathered from various kickbacks, commissions and bribes.A benami is a transaction that is considered a form of money laundering: a transaction in which property is transferred to one person for consideration paid by another.