ISLAMABAD – An accountability court in Islamabad rejected a request filed by former president Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur for the provision of ‘A’ class facilities to them in Adiala jail.
The court, however, approved on Tuesday various amenities to be installed or brought for use at their own expense.
Accountability court judge Mohammad Bashir heard the case and defendants facing National Accountability Bureau probe in fake accounts case were represented by counsels Farooq H. Naek and Sardar Latif Khan Khosa.
The former president and his sister had submitted a petition on Friday. During the proceedings on the same day, Khosa had argued that his client had been given ‘A’ class facilities in jail even before he became the president of Pakistan.
Khosa contended that the former president had was aged and had been suffering from multiple diseases, yet the jail authorities were not providing him proper care.
The court has now allowed the provision of facilities – Airconditioning
Television, Radio, Ipad/Ipod, Refrigerator, Cooker, Kettle, Toaster, Torch
Electric mosquito killer, Iron – on personal expenditure to the PPP leaders besides a personal attendant.
Moreover, PPP leader Faryal Talpur had also submitted an application seeking permission to participate in the Sindh Assembly session, however, the court directed the counsels to approach the inspector general of prisons in this regard.
The judicial remand for both Zardari and Talpur has been extended till September 5.
The fake bank accounts case involves alleged money laundering worth billions of rupees through 29 accounts in private banks; a report by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) estimated that over Rs 100 billion were laundered.
The case was transferred from the banking court in Karachi to the accountability court of Rawalpindi for trial in March though the PPP leaders have been denying any wrongdoing in this regard.
