Toshakhana reference: Zardari challenges seizure of vehicles

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari Thursday challenged seizure of three vehicles in Toshakhana case. Earlier on August 18, the accountability court had ordered seizure of vehicles of Zardari and former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. The accountability court had frozen the ownership of Zardari’s three vehicles, including two BMW and one Lexus car. In his plea, Zardari has requested the accountability court to bar the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from confiscating his three vehicles terming it an illegal action. The court has served notice on the NAB and sought reply on the plea of former president on September 24. The NAB had filed a reference with the accountability court against the former heads of state and governments for not depositing luxury vehicles and valuable gifts received from the foreign leaders in the treasury. Zardari had received expensive cars as a gift from Libya and the UAE as president but did not deposit them in the Toshakhana, the sources added. The reference states that Zardari and Sharif obtained cars from Toshakhana by paying 15 percent price of the cars. The bureau further alleged that Gilani facilitated Zardari and Nawaz in this regard.