NAB opposes Asif Ali Zardari’s acquittal plea

One-day exemption from hearing granted to PPP leader and former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani

ISLAMABAD:

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday opposed the acquittal plea of former president Asif Ali Zardari in Toshakhana reference and prayed the court to dismiss his petition.

AC-III Judge Syed Asghar Ali heard the reference filed by the anti-graft body.

The counsel for Zardari, Farooq H. Naek, NAB prosecutors Irfan Bhola and Waseem Javed appeared before the court.

The court also granted a one-day exemption from hearing to the PPP leader and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

During the hearing, Zardari’s lawyer prayed to the court to adjourn the further hearing till the next date as he was tied up with other cases in the Supreme Court, prompting the court to adjourn the case till November 18.

Read Zardari gets pre-arrest bail in Manhattan apartment case

In September 2020, an anti-graft court had indicted the former president along with ex-prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in the reference.

Zardari had been accused by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of illegally retaining expensive vehicles gifted by various foreign states and dignitaries instead of depositing them in the Toshakhana.

According to the anti-corruption body, Zardari retained the vehicles “against a nominal payment of 15% of their total value” through “dishonest and illegal means for personal benefit and interest”.

Last month, former president’s counsel Farooq H Naek filed an application under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)

The application states that the Zardari is "innocent and has been falsely implicated" in the reference on account of "political victimization".

"The applicant who has been made a victim of circumstances languished in jail for more than eight years without any fault on his part in innumerable cases ultimately resulting in acquittal in all the cases," the application further stated.

Indictment postponed

Also, an accountability court on Thursday postponed the indictment of Zardari till November 18 in a graft reference pertaining to a suspect transaction worth Rs8 billion.

The court had set this day to frame charges against the accused but it deferred the process due to the stay order issued by Islamabad High Court (IHC) a day earlier.

Zardari's lawyer Farooq H. Naek and NAB prosecutor Waseem Javed appeared before the court.

At the outset of the hearing, the defence lawyer produced the written order of IHC halting the accountability court from framing charges on the former president and other accused.

The hearing of the case was then adjourned till the next date.

It may be mentioned here that the court had already declared Asif Ali Zardari's aide Mushtaq Ahmed as absconder due to non-appearance.

The reference had stated that a house was purchased in the amount of Rs150 million in the Clifton area of Karachi, which was later transferred in the name of Asif Ali Zardari.