ISLAMABAD - An Accountability Court (AC) on Tuesday rejected applications of former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur, seeking A-class and extra facilities in prison during judicial remand in fake accounts cases.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s Deputy Prosecutor General (DPG) Sardar Muzafar Abbasi pleaded before the court that petitions were not maintainable as the accused should approach Inspector General (IG) Prisons, Punjab — a relevant forum for their requests.

He stated that government had removed the rule of A and B classes in prisons and had replaced it with ‘better class.’ However, one had to request IG Prisons to get this facility, who was bound to refer the matter to the Home Department for a decision.

Abbasi informed the court that prisoners of ‘better class’ were also provided facilities like a common prisoners but they could avail the extra facilities at their own expenditures. He prayed the court to dismiss applications of the accused as this matter was not relevant to the court.

NAB tells court IG Prisons is relevant forum for making such requests

Earlier, Zardari’s Counsel Sardar Latif Khosa contended before AC-I Judge Muhammad Bashir that since his client had been holding the president office and currently he was member Parliament, the constitution allowed him extra facilities for life time. The former president was suffering from cardiac problems and this court had also allowed him to keep an attendant during NAB custody, he argued.

Farouk H. Naek argued that this was not an administrative issue, rather it was authority of the court to grant his clients additional facilities in jail.

He stated, “We were not begging from administration but demanding our rights in accordance with the Constitution.”

He said that Faryal Talpur had been holding different offices including elected MNA, two times mayor and currently she was also member Sindh Assembly. He also prayed the court to grant a transit remand to Talpur so that she could attend Sindh Assembly session. The NAB DAG objected on the request and pleaded that there was a different mechanism for transit remand and the accused couldn’t file an application to the court in this regard.  The speaker used to issue orders for the Home Department for this purpose which was enough for the authority concerned, he said and argued that this request was also non-maintainable.   He said that the suspect had submitted no request to the Home Department in this regard.