Zardari, Talpur’s bail extended until March 5 in fake bank accounts case

(media92news online)
A banking court in Karachi on Thursday extended the interim bail of former president Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and other suspects in a fake accounts case until March 5.
Former chairman of Pakistan Stock Exchange Hussain Lawai and Omni Group official Abdul Ghani Majeed — who are both under custody — were also produced before court. Both Lawai and Ghani are among the chief suspects in the case.
During the hearing, the court inquired if there had been any developments in the investigation of the ‘fake accounts’ scam, to which investigation officer Mohammad Ali Abro responded in the affirmative. He said that the case was being transferred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for further investigation as per the Supreme Court’s orders.
Zardari’s lawyer Farooq H Naek, however, disputed Abro’s statement and said that the top court had said that the case should be investigated further, not that it should be transferred to NAB. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is probing the case.
The FIA prosecutor told the court that the NAB chairman had signed the request for the case’s transfer and record was being transferred to the anti-corruption watchdog. An appeal will be filed in the Supreme Court in this regard by tomorrow, he said.
Supreme Court, in a verdict passed in January, had ordered NAB to complete the probe of the fake accounts within two weeks. Though NAB has initiated an investigation, the FIA has yet to transfer the case officially.
The court said that the FIA should submit a final challan before it files an appeal for transferring the case.
Majeed’s lawyer argued that his client was being held “illegally” even though a final challan had not been submitted. He said that Majeed was not well and needed to undergo a surgical procedure.
He further claimed that his client was not being allowed to go for surgery.The FIA prosecutor asked the doctors of the medical board, that had been constituted to examine Majeed, why a surgery had not been performed earlier. The doctors told him that they had been trying “conservative treatment that had failed”. The court ordered that Majeed be provided with complete medical treatment.
The hearing of Abdul Ghani and Anwar Majeed’s bail plea will be held on Feb 20.
The joint investigation team (JIT) formed by the apex court in its report has accused 172 people of having fake bank accounts and indulging in money laundering. They include PPP co-chairman Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Faryal Talpur, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz.
The Supreme Court’s order last month asked the anti-corruption watchdog to conclude its investigation within two months.
Those found guilty of corruption will have two options: either to face a reference or ask for a plea bargain.
While the JIT had recommended 16 references against the accused, it was up to NAB how it would treat them.
During the NAB investigation the accused will have to tell that how Bahria Town grew in Karachi and how state land was handed over to it.
The government has claimed that an inquiry into fake accounts had been started in 2015 by then interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.