Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Friday was shifted to Adiala Jail on a three-day judicial remand in connection with the long-running mega money laundering case.

Zardari was presented before accountability judge Mohammad Bashir who sent the former president to jail after NAB prosecutor Muzaffar Abbasi argued that there had been a new development in the case and sought an extension in the PPP leader’s physical remand.

An official notification issued by the court stated that Zardari’s judicial remand had been approved and he was to be kept in jail until his next court appearance on August 19.

In a post shared on Twitter, Zardari’s daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari confirmed that her father was being sent to Adiala Jail.

Zardari also requested that he be seated in the front seat of the car while being taken to Adiala Jail.

“How can I give an order regarding [you] being seated in the front or the back?” responded the judge, rejecting his request.

In July 2018, Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai and three others were arrested. Subsequently, the first case was registered in the mega-corruption scandal.

The then chief justice ordered the formation of a joint investigation team to quicken the pace of the investigation. The JIT identified 11,500 bank accounts and 924 account holders at the start of their investigation.