KARACHI, Jan 9: The district and sessions judge, Central Nisar Mohammed Shaikh, adjourned on Monday the hearing of the Justice Nizam murder case against Asif Ali Zardari and three others till Feb 18.

The spouse of the former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, along with three co-accused — Akhtar Javed Pirzada, Bilal Shaikh and Babar Sindhu — are facing charges of double murder.

The judge also declared accused Pirzada a proclaimed offender, who could not be traced by the police.

The judge had earlier issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of Pirzada, who was on bail but did not appear before the court despite repeated notices.

The former judge of the Sindh High Court and his son, Nadim Ahmed, a lawyer, were shot dead in an attack in 1996 near their home in Ferozabad.