The Supreme Court on Tuesday admitted for hearing a plea of former president Asif Ali Zardari, seeking transfer of corruption cases filed against him in Islamabad’s accountability courts to Karachi.
After an initial hearing in his chamber, Justice Umar Ata Bandial set aside the SC Registrar Office’s objections on the plea. The SC judge ordered that the case be fixed before a bench for hearing within two weeks.
Zardari through his counsel Farooq H Naek challenged the registrar office’s objections. On November 3, he approached the Supreme Court, requesting the court to transfer the graft cases filed against him by the NAB from Islamabad’s courts to similar courts in Karachi where he lives.
He stated in his plea that he can’t appear in accountability courts in Islamabad due to his illness as he was suffering from various ailments and had been critically ill. He said the cases were being heard in Islamabad courts despite the fact that all the accused persons, witnesses and documents are from Karachi. Zardari along with his sister Faryal Talpur is facing multiple corruption cases stemming from a mega-money laundering scam that came to light in 2018.
