The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging acquittal of former president Asif Ali Zardari in SGS and Cotecna references, by an accountability court. The NAB through the petition has said that the accountability court had given the decision in haste without assessing the gravity of offence of the accused. The trial court gave the decision on presumptions and conjectures, which have no value in the eyes of the law.
It was further said that the trial court sought original documents from prosecution, during the hearing of the references. Through the petition, the IHC has been requested to declare the decision of the trial court null and void. On November 24, the Islamabad accountability court Judge Muhammad Bashir exonerated Zardari from the charges of using official position for pecuniary benefits in the 1998 SGS-Cotecna corruption references. Judge Mohammad Bashir acquitted the former president because of weak evidence as the entire case was based on photo copies instead of original documents.