Bilawal reaches Sindh Assembly to meet Agha Siraj

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday reached Sindh Assembly to meet Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani who is in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in assets beyond means case.

He will also preside over a meeting of the PPP parliamentary party and later address a press conference.

According to the secretary Sindh Assembly security has been beefed up in the surrounding of the assembly building to avoid any unforeseen situation.

Only members of the assembly and media persons are allowed to enter the building.

Earlier, on March 11, an accountability court had extended the physical remand of Durrani in the assets beyond means case until March 21.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials presented Durrani in the court on completion of his remand and requested the accountability judge to remand the accused in their custody for 15 more days as his custody was required for further interrogation.

The NAB prosecutor stated before the court that the bureau had hardly two days to carry out investigation against the speaker as he attended the Sindh Assembly sessions daily. “Durrani spends little time in NAB custody.”

He said more properties owned by the accused had surfaced during the investigation. Durrani had a property in Abbottabad, whose value he had declared at Rs4 million against the actual value of Rs27 million, he said, adding ten wristwatches worth millions of rupees, gold and foreign currency were found from the suspect’s lockers.

However, Durrani complained about NAB’s treatment of him, saying from day one, he was not allowed to sleep. For eight hours, NAB officials remained in his residence and searched every nook and cranny of the house and took along all of things, he added.

He said his family members were being persecuted as their phone calls were being taped.