ISLAMABAD/SUKKUR - Top PPP leaders Faryal Talpur and Khursheed Shah were granted bails by courts on Tuesday.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted bail to PPP leader and former president Asif Ali Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur in a case pertaining to mega money laundering through fake accounts.
The bail was accepted against surety bonds worth Rs10 million.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq announced the judgment after hearing arguments from both sides at large.
During the course of proceeding, the bench asked the Additional Prosecutor General (APG) National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Jahanzeb Bharwana that if the bureau had concluded its investigation from the accused. Bharwana answered in affirmation.
Earlier, NAB submitted its reply to the court and opposed the bail petition of Faryal Talpur. The reply stated that Faryal Talpur had been nominated in a NAB reference and beneficiary of fake accounts.
It stated that the NAB had filed a supplementary reference against the accused regarding the money laundering. The NAB said that Faryal Talpur had been chief executive officer (CEO) of Zardari Group of Companies.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court accepted the bail petition of Faryal Talpur.
It may be mentioned here that Asif Ali Zardari had also been given bail a few days back in two references.
Meanwhile, an Accountability Court Islamabad adjourned hearing on fake accounts references till January 7. Nominated accused including Faryal Talpur, Abdul Ghani Majeed and others appeared before AC-II Judge Azam Khan.
However, Farouk H Naek submitted medical report of Asif Ali Zardari and requested the court to grant his client an exemption from hearing.
Naek apprised the court that the doctors had stopped his client from travel due to his health condition.
The NAB prosecutor pleaded that copies of supplementary reference pertaining to money laundering would be prepared till tomorrow (Wednesday).
Meanwhile, an accountability court in Sukkur granted bail to PPP senior leader Syed Khursheed Shah in assets beyond means case. The court ordered the PPP leader to submit surety bonds worth Rs5 million.
Shah was brought to the court via ambulance from the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) on Tuesday after a five-day judicial remand granted to NAB expired.
NAB’s prosecutor requested the court to grant a further remand of 15 days, but Shah’s counsel and Senator Raza Rabbani argued that a 90-day period since his arrest had already lapsed without the anti-corruption body filing a reference or presenting any evidence to the court.
The prosecution, in response, said that a reference against 18 people, including him had been prepared and had been submitted to NAB chairman which contains evidence implicating him in Rs1.24 billion worth of corruption.
The court granted Shah bail and warned him to appear before it when NAB submits the reference against him.
The PPP leader was arrested by NAB’s Sukkur and Rawalpindi teams in September this year and was later shifted to Sukkur.
Multiple corruption cases against him are under investigation with NAB. In 2012, an accountability court had directed NAB to file a reference against him on a complaint pertaining to alleged accumulation of illegitimate assets.
In 2013, NAB had reopened two corruption cases against Shah under the directives of the Lahore High Court. In July this year, the NAB chairman had approved nine inquiries against different personalities, including Shah.