An accountability court on Friday sent former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari to Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, on a three-day judicial remand in the fake bank accounts case. Zardari was presented before Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir who sent the former president to jail.
Earlier, Deputy Prosecutor General National Accountab-ility (NAB) Muzaffar Abbasi argued that there has been a new development in the case and sought extension in Zardari's physical remand. He said that a suspect had given a statement about which the Bureau wanted to interrogate the accused. During the proceedings, counsel for Zardari, Sardar Latif Khosa said his client had earlier requested that NAB be granted his 90-day physical remand once, instead of multiple shorter remands. He argued that while a 90-day remand could not be granted, the court could approve a 14-day remand. He said that repeated remands after a few days cause a loss to national kitty.
"After (every) four days they [NAB] come again and ask for remand...so I request the court to give a 90-day remand to my client and let the NAB investigate whatever it wants [in the case]," he argued. Appearing on the rostrum, Zardari said he was not allowed to offer even Eid-ul-Azha prayer, adding his daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari was not allowed to meet him during the holiday despite having court permission. The court then asked that he be allowed to meet his children.
An official notification issued by the court stated that Zardari's judicial remand had been approved and he was to be kept in jail until his next court appearance on August 19. Prior to this, the PPP co-chairperson was in NAB custody. On July 29, the court had granted a 10-day remand of the former president. In a post shared on Twitter, Zardari's daughter Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari confirmed that her father was being sent to Adiala Jail.
Zardari also requested that he be seated at the front seat of the car while being taken to Adiala Jail.
"How can I give order regarding you being seated in the front or the rear seat?" said the judge while rejecting to his request seeking permission to sit at the front seat of prison vehicle.
Khosa said the former president's legal team should be granted permission to visit him twice a week, adding that lawyers were officers of the court.
"Before meetings, we are made to wait for two to three hours, which is contempt of court," he said, requesting that Farooq Naek and he himself be granted permission to meet their client.
Khosa also filed a plea in the court asking that Zardari be provided with A-class facilities in prison including medical facilities and the permission to meet his family.
The accountability court then sought a reply from NAB regarding the request and issued orders to shift Zardari to Adiala Jail on judicial remand. Subsequently, the former president was shifted to the jail in an armoured vehicle.
Meanwhile, Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur, who is in Adiala Jail, submitted a request to participate in a session of the Sindh Assembly. The court asked the NAB prosecutor for a reply to be submitted on the request for transit remand on August 19.