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| December 14, 2001 | Friday | Ramazan 28, 1422 |
Asif not arrested in polo ground case: NAB
ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: The National Accountability Bureau on Thursday stated before the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, that Asif Ali Zardari had not been arrested in polo ground case, clearing the second-last hurdle in his release after spending over five years in jail.
Asif, who was arrested in November 1996, is facing 13 cases, of which he has already been granted bail in 11. After the Thursday’s decision he requires only one bail to walk out of jail.
The remaining bail application in narcotics case is slated to be taken up on Saturday (Dec 15) in Lahore. If the bail, which is pending before the session judge, Lahore, for over a year, is accepted, Asif Zardari can celebrate Eid as a free man.
After the statement of Raja Bashir, PGA, that Asif Zardari had not been arrested in polo ground reference case, the counsels for Asif Zardari, demanded that he would not be arrested without permission of “this” court.
Former senator Asif was represented by advocates Farooq H. Naek and Shafqat Abbasi.
The PGA, who initially said that Asif Ali Zardari would not be arrested without the permission of the “court”, later agreed that he would not be arrested without the permission of “this court” (LHC).
The PGA also conceded that in case of the conviction of Asif Ali Zardari in any case, the government would not oppose the request for counting his imprisonment from the date of his arrest (Section 382 CrPC.)
Farooq H. Naek, who is representing Asif Zardari in all 13 cases, said that he was pleased that at least the government had conceded that his client was at liberty in one case.
He said that if his client was arrested again, it would be mala fide.
Asif Ali Zardari is simply an accused person after remaining in jail for over five years and carries no conviction.
His conviction in a pre-shipment case in 1999, was set aside by the supreme court and the matter was remanded to the competent court.
Asif Zardari is accused in assets case; container case in which he allegedly sent artifacts to England for Surrey Palace; SGS/Cotecna case; polo ground case; Steel Mills case; ARY Gold case; and imports of tractors fro