Faryal Talpur and Asif Zardari Indicted in Money Laundering Case

Asif Ali Zardari, the former president of Pakistan, along with Faryal Talpur, his sister have pleaded not guilty in court. On Monday, the two were summoned by an accountability court with respect to a mega money laundering case. The siblings announced to all those present in the hearing that they were innocent of the charges that had been filed against them. 

The hearing took place in a court in Islamabad, which was presided over by Justice Azam Khan. Zardari attended the court accompanied by his daughter whereas, Faryal Talpur came alone. However, the leader of the PPP was without his lawyer Farooq H Naik, due to some commitment at the Supreme Court that day. 

The head of the Omni Group, Anwar Majeed, was also indicted by the court. He, along with another person, were also accused of being involved in money laundering. Appearing through a video link, Majeed pleaded not guilty to any involvement in the laundering of money. 

In addition, Abdul Ghani, Majeed’s son was also indicted by the court. He was present in court and like his father, pleaded not guilty. 

Two other people accused were handed a charge sheet following their indictment by the court. This included Taha Raza, a banker, and previous chairperson of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), Hussain Lawai. 

In the last hearing held in a court of Islamabad, Zardari’s pleas for various cases had been dismissed. Instead, the court indicted him for three corruption references, along with several fake accounts cases. It had been made very clear that he would and could not be acquitted. 

On the other hand, co-chairman of the PPP decided to appeal in the Islamabad High Court for acquittal in two important cases. These included the Park Lane reference trials along with the mega money-laundering case. 

The accountability court, however, decided to postpone the indictment of Asif Zardari in Thatta Water Supply references and Park Lane till the 5th of October. 

The media also questioned the former president regarding a money laundering scam involving billions of rupees. To all the questions, Zardari’s response was that he had walked down the same path once before. 

He was also asked whether his party, PPP, would stand by Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, with reference to the decisions made by the All Parties Conference. To this Zardari responded that he and his party will. 

Bilawal thinks it is ‘victimization’

Moreover, Bilawal Bhutto, the Chairman for PPP, believes that his father is being victimized. He stated that while the opposition is being summoned in the court room, current Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sister and other cabinet members were not facing court cases. In his opinion, this is because there are two laws being followed in the country.