ISLAMABAD, April 27: The lawyer of jailed PPP leader Asif Zardari told the Supreme Court here on Tuesday that a prosecution witness could not be re-summoned once he had testified and had been cross-examined in a trial.

Asif Ali Zardari had approached the Supreme Court against the summoning of Mr Naqi Imam Malik, a witness, by the prosecution in a reference of illegal assets against Mr Zardari. Mr Malik had been cross-examined during the trial but after four months the NAB had again requested the court concerned to re-summon him.

Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Mr Zardari's lawyer, contended that the prosecution's move to resummon the witness, who had already testified, amounted to harming proceedings against his client. He stated that resummoning of a witness was a violation of the provisions of CrPC.

In 1998, the then Chief Ehtesab Commissioner, Justice Mujaddadid Mirza, had filed a reference against Mr Zardari for possessing illegal assets. But many supplementary references were later filed against Mr Zardari when the National Accountability Bureau replaced the Ehtesab Bureau in 1999. The case was then adjourned for Wednesday.