Fake accounts case: Zardari challenges SHC order transferring case to Rawalpindi

NAB did not follow 'correct procedure' when transferring case to Rawalpindi, says Zardari's counsel

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday challenged the jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Supreme Court (SC) over the transfer of the mega money laundering case to the federal capital.

In an appeal filed with the apex court, the petitioner prayed upon the SC that the April 2 Sindh High Court (SHC) order "did not form the basis for the transfer of the case" to Rawalpindi.

The petition further appealed that the matter be sent back to the Karachi banking court, arguing that NAB has "failed to follow the correct procedure of transfer" and that the high court did not have the jurisdiction to pass the order.

"The court failed to appreciate that the honourable court vide its order dated January 1, 2019, did not give any directions for the transfer of first information report (FIR) No 4 of 2018 from Banking Offences Court Sindh to Accountability Court or at all".

The petition also underscored that the April 2 order is "contrary to the facts as well as the law applicable in the present circumstances of the case".

After arguing that grounds for transferring the case are not valid, the petitioner requested an exemption from appearing in court.

In March, a banking court transferred the fake bank accounts case against former president Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and others to the anti-graft body's Islamabad registry. Following this verdict, the court also cancelled interim bail of the 19 suspects in the case.