Fake accounts case: Court adjourns hearing till July 8

On June 10, Asif Ali Zardari had surrendered himself to a team of the National Accountability Bureau

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi on Thursday produced former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari before an accountability court in Islamabad in a case pertaining to money laundering through fake bank accounts.

Reportedly, Justice Arshad Malik presided over the hearing of the case.

As the hearing resumed, Zardari had an interesting conversation with the judge when he said that he was not afraid of the jail.

Meanwhile, the court directed authorities to handover copies of the reference to all accused persons in the case.

The court adjourned the proceedings of the case till July 8 when the date to indict the accused individuals will be fixed.

The defence counsel, upon absence of accused Hussain Lawai and Taha Raza, expressed suspicion before the court that they might have been physically tortured.

On the other hand, bail pleas were filed on behalf of accused persons, including Khawaja Namar Majeed, Zulqarnain Majeed and Ali Kamal Majeed. In this regard, the court has sought NAB’s response.

Subsequently, Zardari talked about Anwar Majeed’s illness. To this, the judge said: “Illness inflicts whosoever is arrested.”

Zardari responded by saying: “We are not that weak Mr…We have spent 13 years in jail. We are not the ones who get afraid.” To which, the judge said someone fears a loin, others get afraid of a snake.

Zardari, in his reply mocked the premier by saying that the incumbent premier was even afraid of a lizard. To this, the judge said: “No comments.”

When the judge asked about the whereabouts of Faryal Talpur, the sibling of Zardari, he was told that she was attending sessions of the Sindh Assembly upon issuance of her production orders.

Earlier, Zardari had requested the court to uncuff the accused persons in the case.

“It is a white-collar crime, all accused individuals are well-educated,” he said.

To which, the judge asked whether the accused persons were in jail or under the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). To this, the NAB prosecutor told the court that the accused persons were currently in jail.

Strict security measures were adopted around the courthouse and a heavy contingent of security personnel was deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

Yesterday, Mr Zardari withdrew all seven of his pre-arrest bail pleas filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Earlier, the speaker of the National Assembly (NA) issued PPP chairman’s production orders for attending sessions of the NA, and today his presence is expected in the House.

On June 10, Asif Ali Zardari had surrendered himself to a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after IHC rejected his and his sister Faryal Talpur’s pre-arrest bail plea in the money laundering case.

Following the refusal of bail, a team of anti-corruption watchdog accompanied by police personnel had reached the residence of PPP co-chairman and arrested him. Asif Zardari was taken to NAB office in Rawalpindi where he was shifted to cell no 2.

Small scuffles were erupted between police and supporters of PPP outside his family’s residence in Islamabad as he was taken into custody.

The charges in the latest case centre around allegations Zardari laundered vast sums of money through suspect bank accounts and companies.

NAB is conducting investigations in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the money laundering of billions through fake accounts case wherein it forwarded the joint investigation team (JIT) report with directions to investigate and file references.

Zardari has repeatedly dismissed allegations he had a hand in the scheme. Never popular and always shrouded in controversy, Zardari -- who was once jailed for 11 years for corruption -- stepped down from the president s office in 2013.

But he has continued to serve as co-chairman of the opposition PPP.