Interim bail of Zardari, Faryal extended

KARACHI: A special banking court on Tuesday extended the interim bail period of former president Asif Ali Zardari, Faryal Talpur and others allegedly involved in the fake accounts case till September 25.

Earlier, the court allowed an application moved on behalf of Asif Ali Zardari that said Zardari was busy in Islamabad due to the presidential election and was unable to appear in the court. The court granted an exemption. The court also granted exemption to Omni Group’s Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed, who had failed to appear due to illness.

The court reserved its verdict on the question of granting ‘B-class’ facility in the prison to an accused of money laundering Hussain Lawai. Lawai was produced before the court on a wheelchair. Haider Imam Rizvi, while representing Lawai, said his client was seriously ill. The court observed that when a man was admitted to a hospital, it was not necessary to grant him ‘B-class’ facility. However, the court reserved its ruling on the question of granting the same facility to Lawai.

In the question of admission of Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed to the hospital, the court said it was not fair to admit anyone to hospital without permission of the trial court.

The court had granted the PPP co-chairman interim bail against a surety bond of Rs2 million on August 31. Previously, he had obtained protective bail from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and had been instructed to appear before the trial court by September 3. Asif Ali Zardari, Faryal Talpur and others are being investigated by the FIA for alleged money laundering through at least 29 fake accounts, along with former Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) chairman Hussain Lawai and Summit Bank Senior Vice-President Taha Raza. Zardari and Faryal Talpur are on interim bail. A seven-member JIT led by FIA Additional Director General Najaf Mirza is carrying out the investigation.