No ulterior motive of NAB behind Zardari, Talpur’s arrest other than for inquiry: IHC

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) said on Tuesday that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had 'no mala fide or ulterior motives' behind arresting Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur.

The IHC issued the detailed written order of Judge Amir Farooq and Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani, which had rejected the pre-arrest bail petitions of the former president and his sister in the money laundering through fake accounts case. The judges in their judgement said the arrest of Zardari by NAB was based on need for further investigation into the case, local media reported.

Referring to the petitioners' argument that NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal had no lawful authority to execute arrest warrants when a reference had been filed, IHC said that under Section 24(a) read with Section 24(c) of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, the chairman could issue arrest warrants even after a reference was filed.

Zardari was arrested last week on Monday by a NAB team after his pre-arrest bail was dismissed by the HIG court. Similarly, Talpur was arrested on June 14. Currently, the siblings are in NAB custody on remand. Zardari is in the accountability watchdog's custody till June 21. Whereas, his sister is in NAB's custody till June 24.