Asif Zardari seeks pre-arrest bail in New York apartment case

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on  Monday opened a probe into former president Asif Ali Zardari, accusing him of hiding the ownership of a New York flat that the bureau says he owns. 

The PPP leader, in response, has filed a petition at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking pre-arrest bail in the inquiry. 

NAB has informed the former president, via a notice, that he had not disclosed in Pakistan that he owned the New York apartment.

NAB also pointed out in the notice that the anti-graft body could not obtain records confirming that any legal sum was sent from Pakistan to buy the flat in New York.

The former president wrote in the petition that he received NAB's notice on June 15 and had sought time to respond to the notice. Zardari said he had requested for time so he could gather information about the property.

"There is a history of NAB targeting me," stated the former president in the petition. "I am suffering from several ailments, and getting treatment from doctors," he added.

Zardari requested the high court to grant him bail till the final verdict in the case, and to declare the notice sent by NAB, illegal.

Ali Zaidi shares property tax bills of Zardari’s alleged NY apartment

Federal minister Ali Haider Zaidi, in 2018, tweeted the property tax bills of a New York apartment allegedly owned by the PPP co-chairperson.

The PTI had filed a reference with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against Zardari for allegedly hiding the property in his nomination papers.

The petition was submitted by the PTI's Khurram Sher Zaman and Firdous Shamim Naqvi moved the ECP Sindh to take notice of the matter and disqualify Zardari as a member of the National Assembly. The provincial election commissioner had maintained that only the ECP Islamabad could take action over it.

The property documents tweeted by Zaidi mentioned address of the apartment as: 524 East 72 street, Apt 37F, NY, NY Manhattan 10021. Zaidi tagged Zaman in the tweet, and said: "@khurram2004 more info for your petition."