ISLAMABAD, April 10: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday extended the pre-arrest bail of former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur till April 29 in the fake bank accounts case. On March 28, the court had granted pre-arrest bail to Zardari and Talpur till April 10 against surety bonds of Rs1 million each. A two-member IHC bench, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiani, gave the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) more time to submit its response to the bail petitions of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders.
Zardari and his sister appeared in the court for extension of their interim bail. The NAB prosecutor requested the bench to grant more time to submit response to the petitions. Accepting the bureau’s request, the high court adjourned the hearing till April 29.
Last month, a banking court in Karachi transferred the money laundering case against the former president, his sister and others to Rawalpindi on a request by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had named Zardari, Talpur, Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed, his sons and over 10 others as suspects in an interim charge sheet filed in the banking court in August 2018 for alleged money laundering to the tune of over Rs4 billion, after 29 alleged fake bank accounts were found in three banks – Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and United Bank.
Property tycoon Malik Riaz, his son-in-law Zain, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have been also included in the inquiry.-DNA
