Daily Times

An accountability court in Islamabad on Monday turned down a plea by lawyer of former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari seeking permission to meet his client inside the jail on another day instead of the fixed day for meetings.

The court had earlier ruled that the PPP leader, who is in the judicial custody in Adiala jail, can meet his children and close relatives on Mondays.

Advocate Chaudhry Riaz contended before the court that Farooq H Naek couldn’t meet the former president on Monday owing to his personal engagements. He pleaded the court to permit him to meet the PPP leader on another day instead. Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir, rejecting the request, directed the lawyer to hold a meeting with the PPP leader on the fixed day for meetings.

Previously, the court had rejected an application seeking meetings of Zardari with his relatives twice a week. The judge had ruled that the PPP leader can meet his children and close relatives on Mondays. The court, however, fixed Saturday as the day for meeting with former president’s sister Faryal Talpur.

Meanwhile, former director general of parks Liaquat Qaimkhani was on Monday handed over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on 14-day physical remand in the fake account case. The former DG parks was presented before an accountability court in Islamabad after the end of his two-day remand. The NAB prosecutor, while insisting for 14-day remand during the course of the hearing, told the court that as DG parks Qaimkhani carried out illegal allotments and during his tenure, Bagh ibne Qasim land came into illegal occupation of Galaxy International and it was kept out of the record of the garden as well.

The anti-graft body prosecutor prayed to the court that 14-day remand of the accused be given so that he could be investigated on the recovery of assets from his home worth billions of rupees. The accused requested the court that he be provided with home food and a family member in the jail as he is a diabetic and takes insulin at night daily.

Later, hearing of the case adjourned till October 7.

Separately, an accountability court on Monday fixed October 1 to indict former aviation adviser Sardar Mehtab Khan Abbasi and former secretary aviation Irfan Elahi over charges of illegal appointments made in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

Abbasi and Ellahi appeared before the court and copies of the reference were provided to them. The court after fixing October 1 to indict the accused in the reference adjourned the hearing.