Park Lane reference: Court to indict Zardari, others on March 25

ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court, Islamabad, has set March 25 as date to indict former president Asif Ali Zardari and other accused in Park Lane reference.

Accountability Court Judge Azam Khan on Tuesday conducted hearing of the case. The court approved Asif Zardari’s plea seeking one day (Tuesday) exemption from appearance on medical grounds. Faryal Talpur appeared before the court.

During hearing National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor told the court that prime suspect in the case was under arrest and requested the court to indict him through video link.

To this Judge Azam Khan directed NAB to file an application in this regard.

Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur’s counsel Latif Khosa argued that statement via video link was not easy to record as the federal government will first write to the provincial government.

Judge Azam Khan inquired whether a court representative should be sent to record the suspect’s statement through video link. Farooq H Naik, also representing the PPP leaders, said court registrar can be sent for this purpose.

The NAB prosecutor also told the accountability court that plea bargain has been finalised and payment method in different cases had been determined.

The court directed all the accused to ensure their presence on the next hearing.

According to NAB, Asif Ali Zardari was allegedly for running a fake front company by the name of Parthenon as a shareholder in Park Lane properties. A loan worth Rs1.5 billion was taken out from the bank and transferred to the company account in a private bank.