Court to indict Zardari, Talpur on Oct 4

PPP co-chairman says Bilawal will decide participation in JUI-F long march

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Thursday decided to indict Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur in the money laundering and fake accounts case on October 4.

Zardari, Talpur, former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairperson Hussain Lawai and other accused were presented before Judge Muhammad Bashir's court.

The judge asked Zardari if he had received the copies of the reference against him. The former president said he had just arrived at the court and needed time to consult with his legal team.

The judge told Zardari that he could meet his lawyers in an adjoining room and take as much time as he wanted.

Sardar Latif Khosa, Zardari's lawyer, informed the judge that his client had not been provided with an air-conditioner in his prison cell despite court orders. He added that unlike the court's directives that Zardari be provided with a refrigerator, the prison authorities had given him ice boxes.

Lawai's counsel Ashfaq Naqvi told the judge that his client, an 80-year-old man, was produced before the court in handcuffs. He requested the court to decide the matter of removing his handcuffs.

Zardari, Talpur and other accused were handed over copies of the reference. The judge said the accused would be indicted after they were provided with the copies of the reference.

In an informal talk with reporters in court premises, Zardari condemned the arrest of senior PPP leader Khursheed Shah and said the need of the hour was for all political parties to stand united but the PTI government had resorted to negative political tactics.

He added that the government could arrest whoever they wanted including Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. "We don't even need production orders," he added.

To a question about PPP participating in Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's (JUI-F) long march, the PPP co-chairman said he was in jail and it was up to party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to make the decision.

To another query, Zardari said there was no use of applying for bail and the government should fulfill its desires.

The PPP senior leadership, Omni Group's Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed, Lawai,  Summit Bank Senior Vice-President Taha Raza are among those being investigated in cases related to the fake accounts scandal.

The case was transferred to Islamabad after a Karachi banking court accepted the NAB transfer request filed following the Supreme Court's judgement forwarding the joint investigation team (JIT) report to the bureau with directions to investigate and file references.

Zardari remained in NAB remand till August 16 when the accountability court sent him to judicial remand after NAB prosecutor Muzaffar Abbasi informed the court of new developments in the case.

Consequently, he was moved to Adiala Jail. Talpur, on the other hand, was shifted from Islamabad's Polyclinic Hospital to Adiala jail at midnight on August 12.

On August 19, the defence counsel told the court that their clients were ill-treated in jail. Khosa said the former president was suffering from a number of health issues that could pose a threat to his life.

The fake accounts case history

Information regarding the fake accounts came to the fore when an intelligence agency picked up a prominent money changer in an unrelated case. In December 2015, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) began a discreet investigation into certain bank accounts through which multi-billion rupee transactions have been made.

Investigators have so far identified 29 accounts which received payments, totalling at least Rs35 billion. The probe was initially shelved but resumed almost a year and a half later with FIA's State Bank circle initiating a formal inquiry in January 2018. By June, the FIA had several high-profile names on its list but was unable to make headway–for several reasons.

It was at his point that the Supreme Court intervened and then chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of the 'slow progress' in the money-laundering case. In July, Zardari's close aides Hussain Lawai, Taha Raza and two others were arrested. Subsequently, the first case was registered in the mega-corruption scandal.

The then chief justice ordered the formation of a joint investigation team to quicken the pace of the investigation. The JIT identified 11,500 bank accounts and 924 account holders at the start of their investigation. After the JIT report, the names of 172 individuals were placed on the no-fly list by the interior ministry.