ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed review appeals by former president Asif Ali Zardari, his sister Faryal Talpur and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in the fake bank accounts case.
The apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, also rejected the appeals filed by the Sindh government and Omni group in the same case. However, the court allowed chairperson Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to file a review appeal in the fake bank accounts case.
The chief justice remarked that 99.9 per cent review pleas were based on apprehensions.
Some statements were attributed to us that we had never said, the CJP said.
Speaking to media outside the court, Latif Khosa said the apex court heard nine review appeals on Tuesday. He added that mostly limited points were discussed in the review appeals.
PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister had filed a review petition on Jan 28 against the Supreme Court decision in the fake bank accounts case. On Jan 7, the apex court, in light of the Joint Investigation Team report, ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to conduct a thorough inquiry into the case and wrap it up within two months.
The plea, recalling that the JIT was formed on the recommendation of the FIA, said the probe report was finalized without incorporation of the version of Zadari and Talpur and it was sent to the SC.
The review appeal stated that the apex court’s decision commits an error in holding that the constitution of the JIT is a valid exercise of jurisdiction in aid of a lawful object. The petition further added that the SC admitted FIA couldn’t furnish substantial evidence.
It said there was no rationale to move fake bank accounts case to Islamabad from Karachi. The petition stated that the impugned order suffered from errors floating on the surface of the record. It also argues that the directions issued in the SC order are prejudicial to the petitioner in any futuristic eventualities of a fair trial and due process will not be possible under Article 10 (a) of the Constitution.
The apex court on Jan 7 had ordered the NAB to conduct a thorough inquiry into the case and wrap it up within two months. The judgment read that according to the JIT report, [fake bank accounts] were a matter of kickbacks, misuse of authority, money laundering and embezzlement.
