IHC rejects Zardari’s plea against accountability court trials

Clubs PPP co-chairman’s plea against NAB in Park Lane reference with identical cases

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday rejected a former president Asif Ali Zardari’s plea, seeking orders for accountability court to stop trials against him in the fake accounts references.

The court also clubbed Zardari's petition challenging the NAB jurisdiction in Park Lane reference with the identical cases of former Sindh Bank president Bilal Sheikh and Nusratullah.

A division bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri conducted hearing on the petition of PPP Co-chairman Zardari.

During the course of proceedings, Zardari's lawyer Farouk H Naek prayed the court to order the accountability court to stop the trial and record evidence against his client till the decision of this court.

He apprised the bench that petitions seeking to shift Zardari's cases to Sindh province were pending before the Supreme Court.

The court rejected the request of Zardari's lawyer.

Justice Farooq remarked that let the trial court record the evidence, adding that NAB was not going to conclude trial within month.

NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said that the prosecution had recorded the statements of 10 witnesses in one case before the trial court judge but the defence lawyer could not conduct their cross-examination.

He prayed the court to also fix the Bilal Sheikh and Brigadier (retd) Nusratullah's cases with this identical matter.

The court clubbed three cases and adjourned hearing till February 11. (with input from app)