Asif Zardari to be indicted in Park Lane case on Monday

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court will indict former president Asif Ali Zardari in the Park Lane corruption case on Monday after it turned down his request to dismiss the case.

The case, filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) centres on allegations Zardari laundered vast sums of money through suspect bank accounts and companies. Zardari has repeatedly denied allegations he had a hand in the scheme.

Judge Muhammad Azam Khan announced his decision on Friday, after rejecting the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman’s request to dismiss the case. Zardari’s petition challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter was rejected.

During the hearing, the prosecutor requested the court to dismiss the PPP leader’s plea and indict him in the corruption case. Deputy Prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi said the accused were trying to delay the proceedings of the case. The accountability judge gave assurances that the case would conclude as per the law.

Last month, Zardari had challenged the accountability court’s jurisdiction to hear the Park Lane reference. The former president’s counsel, Farooq Naek, requested the court to decide on the petition before the trial began.

The NAB deputy prosecutor general had opposed the petition and requested the court to dismiss it as baseless.