NAB court rejects Zardari’s acquittal pleas

Decides to indict former president, others; summons accused on 28th

ISLAMABAD:

An accountability court has rejected pleas filed by former president Asif Ali Zardari for his acquittal in three graft cases, announcing that it will indict Zardari and other accused in the cases.

The PPP supreme leader had requested the Islamabad Accountability Court-II judge Azam Khan to acquit him in three corruption cases – fake bank accounts, Park Lane and Thatta water supply references – filed by the country’s prime graft buster – the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

At the last hearing, the court had reserved its order on the pleas. However, on Wednesday, the court announced the indictment of the former president and 28 other accused. It also summoned the accused, including Zardari, again on September 28.

Separately, a division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) – comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani – on Wednesday extended Zardari’s interim bail in the fake bank accounts case till October 15 as it directed NAB to submit a reply again.

The court also approved the former president's request for exemption from attendance.

In December 2015, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) began a discreet investigation into certain bank accounts through which multi-billion rupee transactions had been made.

In the beginning, the FIA identified 29 accounts which had received payments to the tune of Rs35 billion.

The probe was initially shelved but resumed almost a year and a half later with the FIA’s State Bank circle initiating a formal inquiry in January 2018. By June 2018, the FIA had several high-profile names on its list but was unable to make headway–for several reasons.

It was at this point that the Supreme Court intervened and then chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of the “slow progress” in the money-laundering case.

In July 2018, Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai and three others were arrested. Subsequently, the first case was registered in the mega-corruption scandal.

The former chief justice later ordered authorities to form a joint investigation team (JIT) to quicken the pace of the investigation.

The JIT identified 11,500 bank accounts and 924 account holders at the start of their investigation.

After the JIT submitted its report, names of 172 individuals were placed on the no-fly list by the interior ministry. Later, the case was referred to NAB which began filing a number of references against the accused including the former president.