The daughter of former President Asif Ali Zardari says that injustice has prevailed as judge rushed through indictment of her father, trampling on his constitutional and legal rights.
KARACHI: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-August 10th, 2020) Asefa Bhutto Zardari criticized indictment of her father PPP-Co Chairman and former President Asif Ali Zardari in Park Lane reference here on Monday.
Taking to Twitter, Asefa Bhutto Zardari said that charges against her father were framed in absent of legal counsel. She said that her father spent six months in jail already and had been on Exit Control List (ECL) for last two years. Asefa said that injustice prevailed in the case of her father.
She wrote: “Charges framed against my father today without his legal counsel present in court. He has spent 6 months in jail already and has been on ECL for 2 years now. Injustice prevails as judge rushed through indictment, trampling on his Constitutional and legal rights,”.
Earlier today, an accountability court in Islamabad indicted former president Asif Ali Zardari in the Park Lane reference today via video link.
Asif Ali Zardari appeared before the court through a video link from his Bilawal House residence in Karachi as the judge had earlier directed the authorities to ensure his presence for hearing of the case.
During the proceedings, Zardari pleaded the court that his counsel was not there as he was in other courts and therefore he could not be indicted today. A this, the court observed that his lawyer already knew about the date of today’s hearing.
“You will be indicted today,” the judge remarked.
The judge also remarked that the lawyer should have sent his assistant lawyer to attend today’s hearing.
“There are two simple sentence and you listen to them and answer,” the judge further remarked.
Zardari, however, asked the court to write in the order that he was indicted in absence of his lawyer. At this, the judge observed that the courts could not force the lawyers for appearance if they remain absent. The charges are framed against the suspect.
On July 19, 2019, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed Park Lane properties reference against former president Asif Ali Zardari.
The reference nominated Asif Ali Zardari and 17 others.
According to NAB, Asif Ali Zardari was allegedly for running a fake front company by the name of Parathon as a shareholder in Park Lane properties. A loan worth Rs 1.5 billion was taken out from the bank and transferred to the company account in a private bank.
Zardari had forged documents to comply with the loan policy and coaxed the National Bank into loan approval, it added.
