Court extends Zardari, Talpur’s judicial remand till Dec 17

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – An accountability court on Tuesday extended judicial remand of former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur till December 17, in the fake bank accounts and Park Lane Reference cases. Accountability Court Judge Azam Khan heard the case and Faryal Talpur was presented before court, while Zardari was not taken from the hospital to the accountability court due to his poor health. During the hearing, the NAB prosecutor apprised the court after filing a supplementary reference against the accused and said the reference was going through the scrutiny process. The number of accused remains the same in the reference, more evidence is being collected, the prosecutor NAB said. After hearing the arguments, the court adjourned the hearing of the case and ordered to provide copies of the supplementary reference to the accused latest by December 17. A day earlier, the NAB filed a supplementary reference against former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur in the fake accounts case. A key progress in the fake bank accounts case as the supplementary reference has been filed against Zaradari and Talpur. According to the reference, the corruption watchdog body alleged that the funds of a private bank were wrongly used and land was purchased under the name of a ‘benamidar’. The reference said that Anwar Majeed, Abdul Ghani and Mustafa Zulqarnain played a crucial role in the case. The NAB said that the accused named Mushtaq has a joint account with Zardari, adding that according to the bank record, the account was used for the former president. “Funds were also transferred abroad through the same account,” the reference stated. The reference further stated that Rs8.3 billion were withdrawn from the fake accounts and Rs1.2bn were taken out illegally from a private bank’s account. It also says that Rs950 million were then transferred back to Zardari’s account for his use.