SC stops FIA from questioning Zardari, Faryal till polls

• CJP says court had neither summoned Zardari in person nor put brother-sister duo on ECL

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday barred the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from summoning Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister, Faryal Talpur, in the Rs35 billion money-laundering probe involving fake bank accounts.

Stringent security measures were in place at the apex court due to Zardari’s expected appearance. However, as the hearing went underway, it became clear Zardari will not be appearing in the court.

Earlier, senior PPP leader and Zardari’s counsel Farooq Naek arrived at the SC and told the media that Zardari’s appearance in court will depend on the nature of the proceedings.

Zardari’s close friend and former Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSE) chairman Hussain Lawai was also present in the SC.

During the proceedings, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar remarked that the defence counsels should have approached the bench if they had reservations about the top court’s orders.

The top judge was referring to a press conference of the PPP senior leadership wherein the party leaders had decried the money laundering investigation as political, saying the case was three years old.

“Zardari was neither summoned in person today nor was the brother-sister duo placed on the the Exit Control List (ECL),” the CJP clarified during the proceedings.

The two-member bench observed that since Zardari is just a suspect, how could he be placed on the ECL?

Chief Justice Nisar remarked that it will direct the FIA not to display bias against anyone during the investigation.

The hearing was later adjourned until August 6.

 ‘ZARDARI HAS NO ASSOCIATION WITH ZARDARI PVT LTD’:

Addressing the media outside the court, Zardari’s counsel Naek said that the top court observed that it does not want the election transparency affected.

He further claimed that conspiracies are being hatched to bring a bad name to the PPP.

“The PPP co-chairman has no association with Zardari Pvt Ltd — which is being probed by the FIA in the scam,” Naek clarified.

Furthermore, Naek said he apprised the court of their reservations against FIA’s joint investigation team head Najam Mirza, adding that the chief justice has assured them that he will keep these issues in mind.

Answering a question, Naek blamed the media for “creating a hype” about the ECL issue. He, however, admitted that there was confusion in the earlier order of the court regarding the placement of names on the ECL.

On July 9, the SC had reportedly summoned Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and others in a case relating to the money laundering scam on July 12.

On Tuesday, Zardari and Talpur were also summoned by the FIA in connection with a probe into the 29 fake accounts allegedly used to channel illegal funds and the siblings were directed to appear at an FIA office in Karachi to record their statements. However, they sent their lawyers instead.

The FIA had submitted its report on the scam in the Supreme Court on June 8 after it ordered to place on the Exit Control List (ECL) names of all fake accountholders, people in the Sindh government who transferred funds from these accounts, the contractors and all the suspected beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate in Karachi extended until 14 July the physical remand of Lawai and Raza.