Islamabad: Former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari’s fate hangs in balance as an anti-corruption court is set to start proceedings against him in an old graft case, days after Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from premiership over the Panama Papers scandal.
The anti-corruption court will decide the last of at least six corruption cases against 62-year-old Zardari, related to corruption.
Dawn News reported that the court will initiate day-to- day proceedings against the Pakistan People’s Party co- chairperson over his allegedly illegal assets, both in Pakistan and abroad. Zardari and his wife late Benazir Bhutto had been accused of acquiring assets through illegal means. The reference was filed before an accountability court in 2001 and was closed in 2007 under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), issued by the government of retired General Pervez Musharraf.
The Supreme Court, in its verdict in the NRO case on December 2009, had ordered the revival of cases closed under the ordinance.
By then, however, Zardari had been sworn in as president and therefore enjoyed immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution.
The Natonal Accountibility Bureau re-opened the assets reference in April 2015, but the case has been proceeding at a snail’s pace.
However, in the wake of the recent judgement against Sharif, the accountability court with the consent of the National Accountability Bureau initiated daily hearings in the matter. (PTI)
