Zardari land deal neat, clean transaction: Faisal Sakhi Butt

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: Faisal Sakhi Butt, who had been named as a key player in the Zardari-Bilawal 300-acre land purchase deal, on Friday broke his silence and issued a clarification calling the purchase of the land by the president’s company as a “neat and clean and professional business transaction.”

Butt issued a press statement in which he made no reference to the president and made a clear distinction of his deal having nothing to do with the CDA, where he is also a member of the Islamabad Development Steering Committee.

Faisal Butt stressed that in the deal, all the legal requirements were met as had duly been acknowledged in the original story of The News.

“I am not obliged to respond as the said transaction does not involve public property or public funds and is purely a private deal between private citizens, however, I am constrained to respond as I feel unfairly maligned and would like your newspaper to set the record straight,” Faisal Butt said in his clarification.

“It is relevant to mention that I am an established business man from an established business family of Islamabad, having a blotless record over the past four decades and have never been involved in any illegal business transactions.

“It is further clarified that details given in the story by Ansar Abbasi about me in a neat, clean and professional business transaction from my lawful resources well within the framework of law of the land have been twisted by Ansar Abbasi for the satisfaction of his own motives best known to him.”

He stated, what he called the ground realities as under: (i) The land subject matter of the news item is neither acquired nor owned by CDA. (ii) The entire land is located in Zone-III of the Master Plan for Islamabad, its use is restricted strictly to set up recreational facilities. No housing society can be established in this zone and thus its price cannot be compared with adjoining areas meant for residential purposes particularly when the entire land is also still in the occupation of original owners of the area. (iii) In the news item, a reference has also been made to me being a member of the Islamabad Development Steering Committee, which is patently irrelevant and has clearly been made to confuse the readers into believing as if the mentioned deal had something to do with CDA, which is not the case at all. I am no doubt member of the said Committee but it has no nexus whatsoever with the purchase and sale of the land, which is owned by private owners not the CDA and which is subject matter of the news item designed to damage my reputation. The business deal commented upon in hostile terms is purely between private parties settled and concluded in accordance with law.”

Ansar Abbasi adds: At last, Faisal Sakhi Butt has emerged from his hideout to claim that there existed a deal with Park Lane Estates (Pvt) Ltd, which was owned by President Asif Zardari and Bilawal Ali Zardari. In his clarification, Butt has not denied any fact in my story, in fact he has confirmed what was written. The fact that the land was sold at the old price has also been implicitly admitted by Butt arguing that the land was not for any housing project but he has conveniently ignored the fact that CDA was taking a major highway very close to the land, which will multiply its market price by billions.

What is interesting is that Faisal Butt claims to be a businessman but also admits that he has been appointed a member of the CDA steering committee. He does not explain for what services he has been rewarded by President Zardari. One great service that he did has been exposed by The News and if there are other services, Butt should inform the public.

My story never mentioned that the land purchased was a CDA land and Butt has tried to confuse the public by denying what was never stated in my story. This is neither a denial nor an explanation but an admission of facts, as reported, and an admission of guilt because he has not explained why as a businessman he sold the land at a price, which was 15 years old.

The full story about the scam has not yet been told and we hope that Butt would now be available to us for answering all the questions about the deal and not hide behind a meek and poorly-worded clarification.

What is important that there has been no word about the story from the presidency or from Zardari or Bilawal Zardari as they are the ones who have to explain the deal, not Butt, who was just acting as a middle-man.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=207259