Zardari’s Park Lane indictment postponed in Park Lane reference

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Former president Asif Ali Zardari was not indicted in the Park Lane reference on Monday after his lawyer filed a last minute petition against the proceedings. Farooq H Naek filed a petition in an Islamabad accountability court, saying the indictment should be stopped as the proceedings against Zardari were not legally justified. He said loan defaulting was a matter concerning the State Bank of Pakistan. “When someone defaults on a loan, the State Bank governor approves a reference against them and a notice is sent.” The loan in question was taken by a company, not Zardari, argued Naek, who said his client was never issued any notice by the SBP either. Judge Azam Khan asked Naek why he waited till the last moment to file this petition when he knew the indictment process was almost complete. Naek asked the judge to issue a notice to NAB on the new petition. The NAB also asked the judge to issue the notice and vowed to submit its reply within 30 minutes so the indictment could proceed. However, the judge postponed the indictment and set a hearing for the new petition on July 14. The defence and prosecution’s arguments will be heard on July 14 after which a new date can be set for the indictment if the petition is rejected. Zardari was set to be indicted via video conference from Karachi.