Islamabad court returns four graft references against Zardari, others to NAB

Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir says the references did not fall under his jurisdiction

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – An accountability court in the federal capital on Friday sent four references, including money laundering case, against former president Asif Ali Zardari and others back to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir announced the verdict after hearing the arguments from Mr Zardari’s lawyer Farooq Naek and the NAB prosecutors.

Mr Naek argued that after the amendment to the National Accountability Ordinance, the NAB court had no jurisdiction to proceed in such matters.

Following the arguments, the judge returned the money laundering references against Asif Zardari, Faryal Talpur, Hussain Lawai and others to the anti-graft watchdog.

The plot allotment reference against Manzoor Qadir and others was also sent back to the NAB. The Sindh Bank reference against Bilal Sheikh and other suspects was also returned.