Park Lane Reference: AC grants one-day exemption to Zardari

ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court, Islamabad, on Wednesday granted one-day exemption from personal appearance to former president Asif Ali Zardari in the Park Lane Reference.

During the hearing, Asif Ali Zardari’s lawyer Farooq H Naek appeared before the accountability court and requested the judge to grant his client exemption from personal appearance in hearing.

All other co-accused expect Sher Ali, appeared before the court. The court started recording testimony of witness Ahsan Aslam. Former president Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and other accused face charges of corruption on account of fake bank accounts and embezzlement in the financial facility for Park Lane Private Limited and Parthenon (Pvt) Limited.

The Park Lane case is being investigated under different sections of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, over Zardari’s alleged involvement in a loan and its misappropriation by Parthenon Private Limited. A loan of Rs1.5 billion was taken from a bank and transferred to the company’s account in a private bank.