Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: On Thursday, an Islamabad accountability court has reserved judgement on the adequacy of an application of former president Asif Ali Zardari demanding his discharge in Rs 8.3 billion suspicious transactions case.

Asif Zardari seek the acquittal plea based on the recent amendments made to the country’s accountability law. However, Accountability Judge Asghar Khan will announce the verdict shortly.

Zardari moved before the court along with his lawyer as it resumed hearing. The counsel stated before the court that his client cannot be indicted in the case after the promulgation of the National Accountability Ordinance, 2021.

He maintained that no case is made out against Zardari after the new law, pleading with the judge to acquit him.

Meanwhile, the judge has reserved the verdict on the maintainability of the plea after hearing the arguments. The court will also decide whether or not to frame charges on the former president.

According to the reference, former president Asif Ali Zardari is accused of carrying out transactions worth over Rs8 billion using fake accounts. His aide Mushtaq Ahmed deposited the amount in a fake account, which was later used to purchase pricey properties in a posh locality of Karachi.

Ahmed served as a stenographer at Aiwan-e-Sadar from 2009 till 2013. He has been declared as a runaway in the case due to his consistent absence from the proceedings.