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Journalism of Courage
ISLAMABAD, March 5: Pakistan’s anti-corruption bureau has claimed to have unearthed another illegal deal involving millions of dollars allegedly committed by Asif Ali Zardari, husband of former premier, Benazir Bhutto, following arrest of a former bank chief by Interpol in Australia.
Hussain Lawai, president of the Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) was arrested by Interpol in Canberra yesterday on the request of Pakistani authorities, according to Saifur Rehman, chief of Anti-corruption cell, who also claimed that Lawai acted as the conduit in an alleged deal between Zardari and a leading gold dealer of Dubai.
Rehman alleged that Zardari in collusion with the ARY Gold of Dubai indulged in money laundering and import of gold and silver causing loss of rupees 1,822 million to the national exchequer.
He also alleged that the then Benazir government gave sole right of import of gold to Pakistan to ARY Gold and also reduced the customs duty on gold in return of a commission to Zardari.
More than four lakh tolasof gold was imported by ARY Gold to Pakistan and commission was paid to Zardari while the duo was also involved in money laundering and within a span of 18 months 543 million dollar was sent outside Pakistan, he said.
He further said that Lawai had already stated in his voluntary statement that Zardari had himself asked him to transfer 10 million dollar to ARY account in Dubai in October 1995.
Lawai, against whom warrants were issued by a Karachi court, tried to escape to Australia from Dubai but on the request of Pakistan government he was arrested by Interpol at Canberra Airport soon after arrival there, Rehman said.
Lawai had been appointed as the president of MCB and advisor to prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, during her last days in power and was considered a confident of Asif Zardari.
Rehman further said that following deals with the gold dealer at least 18 million dollars landed in Zardari’s Swiss bank accounts which has already been frozen by the Swiss authorities.
The anti-corruption bureau,which is investigating a number of corruption cases involving former ruling couple, has already sent references in three corruption cases to the Lahore high court which involved Benazir Bhutto, her mother Nusrat Bhutto and Asif Zardari.
Zardari is already in jail facing a murder trial for his alleged involvement in the killing of Benazir’s brother, Murtaza Bhuto, in a police encounter in Karachi in September 1996, barely two months before the dismissal of Benazir’s government.Sharif’s old ally veers towards Bhutto
Sharif and a number of his Cabinet colleagues flew to Chardasa town in North West Frontier Province and held talks with veteran ANP leader Wali Khan and his wife Begum Nasim Wali, party’s provincial president.
But the two-hour-longmeeting between the two leaders failed to make any breakthrough.
