The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Saturday issued arrest warrants for a businessman who allegedly transferred millions of rupees into a bank account reportedly owned by Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani’s daughter, media reports said.
Gulzar Ahmed’s name had surfaced during an investigation against the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader. NAB officials are probing the alleged transfer of millions of rupees by him into the bank account of Durrani’s daughter. The anti-graft watchdog has also asked the authorities concerned to place the name of the businessman on a watch list.
Reports said the NAB had seized important documents pertaining to properties and vehicles during a seven-hour raid at Durrani’s residence in Karachi earlier this week.
NAB officials had raided the PPP leader’s house in Karachi’s Defence area on Wednesday shortly after he was arrested from a private hotel in Islamabad in cases pertaining to corruption and owning assets beyond known sources of income.
“Important documents pertaining to houses, properties and vehicles were seized during the raid,” a NAB official said requesting anonymity. “A memo was made of all the items seized from Durrani’s house,” they said. “We made the memo in front of Durrani’s family and got his daughter to sign it,” they added, and refuted the reports that force was used to make Durrani’s daughter sign the memo or the family was harassed during the raid.
A list of all the items seized during the raid will be presented in the court,” the sources stated. “The investigation is moving in a positive direction,” they added.
NAB arrested the Sindh Assembly speaker on February 20. An accountability court on February 21 remanded Durrani in NAB’s custody till March 1.
Durrani was under investigation in three cases pertaining to illegal appointments, accumulating assets beyond means, and embezzlement of public funds.
Published in Daily Times, February 24th 2019.
