ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and others on Friday obtained more relief from the Accountability Court after it sent four references against Zardari including the mega money laundering case against him and his sister back to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in view of the amendments made by the coalition government to the NAB law.
Accountability Court-I judge, Muhammad Bashir, while announcing its reserved verdict on the pleas filed by Zardari and others, in which they have challenged the territorial jurisdiction of the court under the amendment made in the NAB law, sent the references back to the NAB.
The court declared that the instant references did not fall under the ambit of this court after the amendment in the NAB law. The court returned the files of the references to the NAB for placing the matter before the appropriate forums.
Farooq Naek, while arguing before the court said, after the NAB law amendments, these references did not fall under the jurisdiction of the court. The accountability court cannot conduct a trial on the references, he added.
The court returned money laundering references against Asif Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, Hussain Lawai and others, illegal allotment of amenity plots at Nehr-e-Khayyam Karachi to M/s Friends Associates case against Manzoor Qadir alias Kaka, Pink Residency against Zardari and other and Sindh Bank reference against Bilal Sheikh and other suspects to the NAB.
The NAB had nominated Zardari, Faryal Talpur, Hussain Lawai, Anwar Majid, Abdul Ghani Majeed, Taha Raza, Arif Khan, Muhammad Umair, Syed Hussain Faisal Shah Jamote, Azam Wazir Khan, Nimr Majid, Mustafa Z Majid, Ali Kemal Malik, M Younas Kudwavi, Zain Malik, Haji Haroon, Khawaja Muhammad Salman Younus, Pir Darvesh Khan, Imran Khan, Muhammad Aurangzeb, and Bilal Shaikh, in the supplementary reference filed in connection with mega money laundering case.
Those who were nominated by the NAB in the supplementary reference filed in connection with the Park Lane case included Zardari, Muhammad Iqbal Memon, director Park Lane Company, M/s Park Lane Estate (Private) Limited, Muhammad Iqbal Khan Noori director M/s Parthenon (Pvt) Ltd, Muhammad Hanif Accountant M/s Park Lane Estate, M/s Parthenon (Pvt) Limited, an incorporated entity bearing certificate of incorporation under the provision of the Companies Ordinance 1984, and Hussain Lawai, former president Arif Habib Bank, and the Summit Bank.
The other accused included Abdul Ghani Majid, shareholder/director Regent Service (Pvt) Ltd multiple companies known as Omni Group, Khawaja Anwar Majid, shareholder director Omni Group, Taha Raza public relationship manager Arif Habib Bank now Summit Bank, Farooq Abdullah area branch manager HBL, Uzair Naeem former AVP Summit Bank, M/s Tracom (Pvt) Ltd through GM south-an incorporated entity bearing certificate of incorporation under the provision of the companies office, Muhammad Saleem Faisal, General Manager M/s Tracom (Pvt) Limited, and Zahir Ismail.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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