Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday appeared before an accountability court in Islamabad in the money laundering through fake bank accounts case
RAWALPINDI (Pakistan Point News / Online - 29th April, 2019) Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday appeared before an accountability court in Islamabad in the money laundering through fake bank accounts case.Justice Arshad Malik is presiding over hearing of the case as 26 accused persons have appeared in the court. They are appearing in the same case for the third time.Reportedly, strict security measures are formulated and implemented around the court and its premises, and a heavy contingent of police has been deployed to prevent any untoward incident during the hearing.
Entry of unauthorized persons into the court was restricted; however media persons have been allowed to access the court room.PPP leaders have also filed an application for extension in their interim bail which ends today. IHC's two-member bench comprising of Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani are scheduled to hear the application.Contrarily, the NAB has pleaded with the court, in its written reply, to not extend their bail.
Meanwhile, the court accepted an application of exemption from personal appearance in the hearing today, filed on behalf of four accused persons from the total 30 suspects nominated by the National Accountability Court (NAB) in the same case.On April 16, NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi had told the court that some accused persons in the case were imprisoned in Karachi's Malir Jail and were not produced during the hearing. To which, the judge expressed displeasure and warned of a show cause notice to Sindh government, if the accused persons were not produced in the next hearing.
Except four accused persons, attendance of all other suspects were marked in the court, whereas bailable arrest warrants were issued for four persons including, Iqbal, Azam, Nisar and Adnan.The NAB prosecutor had also told the court that two accused women namely Kiran Aman and Noreen Sultan - who had expressed their willingness to become approvers against Zardari, his sister Talpur and other Primary accused persons in the case - have submitted their application with the NAB. However, the process of their becoming approvers and application has not been completed yet.They are among the 30 accused nominated in the case by NAB. To which, the court had ordered to issue notices to all accused persons who were not appearing for the hearings.
