A banking court on Friday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former president Asif Ali Zardari and other accused in a fake bank accounts case. During the hearing of the Rs 35 billion money laundering case, warrants were issued for suspects absconding in the case, including Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Namar Majeed, Aslam Masood, Arif Khan, Naseer Abdullah Hussain, Adnan Javed, Mohammad Umair, Iqbal, Azam Wazir Khan, Zain Malik and Mustafa Zulqarnain. The court ordered the suspects to be arrested and presented before it by September 4. Last month, Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in connection with the probe. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is interrogating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. On Thursday, the banking court hearing the case approved an extension in Talpur’s interim bail until the next hearing on September 4. Interim bails for some others, including Shehzad Jatoi and Sher Muhammad Mugheri, were also extended until the same date. A decision on the bail of Lawai and Taha Raza was adjourned until August 18. The court also approved transit remand of the two accused Anwar Majeed and Abdul Ghani Majeed on the FIA’s request. According to sources, more than 20 ‘benami’ accounts at some private banks were opened in 2013, 2014 and 2015 from where transactions worth billions of rupees were made. The amount, according to FIA sources, is said to be black money gathered from various kickbacks, commissions and bribes. Published in Daily Times, August 18th 2018.