ATTOCK FORT, Dec 23: A prosecution witness on Saturday deposed before an accountability court here in the reference against Asif Ali Zardari, spouse of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, that he (witness) was running shares business without reporting it to the tax authorities.

The witness, Nisar Hussain, a former executive director of Ansari Sugar Mills Limited, had to face hard time during cross-examination as some documents were brought on record by the defence counsel which showed that his wife was having accounts in different banks. The documents further revealed that the witness was having joint accounts with his wife and there were also shares on her name.

Mr Zardari has been facing trial on charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The prosecution had alleged that the said Ansari Sugar Mills belonged to Mr Zardari. The court presided over by Mr Farukh Lateef adjourned hearing of the case to Jan 4, 2002, after completion of cross-examination by the defence.

Senior advocate Farooq H. Naik, appearing for the defence, cross-examined the witness at length to substantiate his point that the defendant was implicated in a false case by the NAB and in that connection the NAB pressured Mr Hussain and another prosecution witness to give false evidence against the defendant.

To a question posed by the defence, the witness admitted that he had filed an application for acquittal before an accountability court in Rawalpindi, where a reference was pending against him.

He admitted that another witness, Ausaf Agha, had also filed an application for acquittal before the court.