–Former president urges SC for early hearing of fake accounts case
TANDO ADAM: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday that the 18th Amendment was under threat but his party would fight for the rights of the people no matter what happened.
“No one can stop us from seeking our rights,” he said while addressing a public gathering here.
Taking a jibe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, the former president said, “These people are fools and their legs often shake with fear.”
He said he had expressed his concerns regarding the rulers’ intentions at the time of general elections and informed how “these people were after the 18th Amendment”.
“We will not let another Bangladesh be established here,” Zardari said further and reiterated PPP’s commitment to fighting for the rights of the masses. “We are concerned about the poor while the rulers are concerned about their palaces.”
FAKE ACCOUNTS CASE:
Separately, the PPP co-chairman filed in the Supreme Court (SC) an appeal requesting that the hearing of a review petition he had filed against a January 7 verdict be fixed for February 12.
The apex court on Jan 7 had tasked the National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) with probing the fake accounts case after a joint investigation team (JIT) report had revealed that at least 29 bank accounts identified as fake were used for money laundering to the tune of Rs42 billion.
The report had implicated former president Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur, prominent banker Hussain Lawai, Omni Group’s Anwar Majeed and other prominent bankers and businessmen.
Zardari had challenged the ruling last month, claiming that the SC “had no justification at all” for passing an order in the case. In the petition filed Saturday, he urged the court to fix the hearing of his petition on Feb 12.
The petition, filed by Advocate Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa on behalf of the former president, stated that Zardari was innocent until proven guilty, yet had been being deprived of his fundamental rights.
“The liberty and free movement of the applicant has been set at peril by NAB,” the petition read.
