Fake accounts case: Faryal Talpur's judicial remand extended till Jan 7
Other accused persons including Abdul Ghani Majeed were also produced in the court today.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – An accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday extended the judicial remand of Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) senior politician and member of the provincial assembly of Sindh Faryal Talpur till January 7, 2020 in the money laundering through fake bank accounts case.
However, former president Asif Ali Zardari was granted exemption from his personal appearance in the hearing today after his defense counsel submitted a plea on health grounds.
Other accused persons including Abdul Ghani Majeed were also produced in the court.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted bail to Mr Zardari on medical grounds in the Park Lane Estate Company and the money laundering through fake bank accounts references filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Mr Zardari had filed a bail plea on medical grounds whereas Talpur sought bail from the same court while pleading with the court that she was a mother of a differently-abled child, and therefore she needed to take care of that child.
Meanwhile, doctors are likely to continue Mr Zardari’s treatment for the next few days as the former president will continues to undergo a range of tests for his possible cardiac complications.
Doctors will take a decision for performing his angioplasty after analysing his medical reports.
Mr Zardari was shifted to the Ziauddin Hospital last evening He was taken to Karachi from Islamabad in a Sindh Government’s LG-45 Aircraft. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah himself traveled with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman in the aircraft.
The former president had maintained that he was suffering from a heart ailment and has had three stents placed in his body. He said that he also suffers from diabetes which means that he has to constantly monitor his blood sugar levels.
The PPP co-chairperson’s medical reports were submitted along with the application to the IHC.
On Nov. 12, an accountability court in Islamabad had rejected Zardari’s application for transferring him to Karachi for his ongoing medical treatment.
On July 29, an accountability court issued copies of the Park Lane reference against former president Asif Zardari which states that the Asif Zardari had taken Rs 1.5 billion loan from National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in the name of fake company Parthenon.
On July 1, the NAB had arrested Zardari in the Park Lane case while he was already in custody with the bureau’s Rawalpindi directorate in connection with the fake accounts case.
On June 26, Zardari had withdrawn his bail applications in three cases saying he knew why he was suffering and "does not want to embarrass anyone".
He withdrew his applications seeking bail in Park Lane, Tosha Khana luxury vehicles and bulletproof vehicles references filed against him by NAB.
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.
The accountability watchdog had arrested him in June after the cancellation of his pre-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court in the fake bank accounts case.
At that time, NAB had stated that it was proved during the investigation of the case that PPP leader had done corruption and money laundering with the help of his close aides. The NAB further had stated the loans were taken by showing fake documents and those loans were then used for personal gains.
According to the reference, Rs1.5 billion were taken in 2009 and Rs800 million were withdrawn in 2012. It had added that the NBP suffered loss of Rs3.77 billion due this fraud. It had further mentioned that Zardari as the president had forged documents to comply with the loan policy and coaxed the NBP into loan approval.
Asif Zardari was 25% share holder in Park Lane Company and he also made a fake company Parthenon in the name of his employees. Besides, a property was also bought in the IBC Center where the bureau has sealed eight floors.
As per the prosecution, the Park Lane case is being investigated under different sections of NAO 1999 and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010 for Zardari’s alleged involvement "in extending loan and its misappropriation by M/S Parthenon Private Limited, M/S Park Lane Estate Private Limited and others".
