IHC grants permanent bail to Asif Zardari in fake bank accounts case
The former president was granted this relaxation in suspicious transaction matter.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday has approved permanent bail of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in fake bank accounts case on medical grounds.
According to details, the former president was granted this relaxation in the matter of suspicious transaction worth Rs8 billion.
Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Rawalpindi has neither accepted the court’s order nor opposed it.
Earlier, accountability court had indicted Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur in mega money laundering reference. The court had also rejected Asif Ali Zardari’s plea seeking acquittal in mega money laundering, Park Lane and Thatta water supply references.
While announcing the reserved verdict, the court had directed to indict the PPP leader in all three references. The ex-president cannot be acquitted in fake bank accounts case, judge Azam Khan remarked.
In December 2019, former president Asif Ali Zardari was released on medical grounds after an accountability court in Islamabad issued separate robkars [mandamuses] in the money laundering through fake bank accounts cases against him.
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.
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.
