Steel Mills case: SC admits plea against Zardari’s acquittal

Zardari accused of receiving kickbacks worth Rs40 million from former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) plea against the acquittal of former president and Pakistan People Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the Steel Mills corruption case and issued notices to the respondents.

The three-member bench headed by Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry accepted the NAB plea for preliminary hearing.

The NAB prosecutor submitting the appeal said that Zardari is accused of receiving kickbacks worth Rs40 million from Sajjad Ahmad, a former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills. After listening to the prosecutor’s statement, the court adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period by issuing notices to parties.



Zardari was sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of Rs 40 million when Rawalpindi’s Accountability Court-I found him guilty of corruption and corrupt practices on September 12, 2002. The ex-president appealed against the conviction in the Lahore High Court, which acquitted him on September 10, 2004.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.