RAWALPINDI, Oct 17: Hearing of corruption cases against Ms Benazir Bhutto and her Husband Asif Ali Zardari were adjourned by different accountability courts here on Wednesday after defence sought deferment owing to death of the mother of their lawyer.

The National Accountability Bureau was to submit its written reply in 11 corruption cases against the Pakistan People’s Party leaders and Federal Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, but a majority of cases were put off until Oct 19 on the request of the defence counsel.

Arshad Tabraiz, an associate of Ms Bhutto’s counsel Farooq H. Naik, told Court No 3 Judge Saghir Ahmed Qadri that the mother of Mr Naik had passed away and because of this he could not represent his client.

The judge adjourned the case relating to Swiss company Cotecna against Ms Bhutto and the BMW case against her husband Asif Ali Zardari till Oct 19 when NAB will file its comments in response to acquittal applications of the accused under the newly-promulgated National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

NAB was represented by Prosecutor General Dr Danishwar Malik and Deputy Prosecutor General Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta.

NAB authorities filed reply in the Court No 1 in the illegal assets’ case against Ms Bhutto and raised no objection to the

application of acquittal

moved by Ms Bhutto, the main accused in the case.

Judge Muhammad Hanif Khan adjourned the hearing till Oct 23.

In the same court, Misbah Sharif advocate told the judge that her client, Aftab Sherpao, had moved a petition in Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench for withdrawal of stay orders in the corruption case of New City Project but the high court had not yet taken up the application. The judge had asked the lawyer to withdraw the stay orders from LHC for any legal proceedings.

Two co-accused, Zaheer Khan, former chairman of Sate Life Insurance Corporation, and Nawaz Khokar, former deputy speaker of National Assembly, were also present in the court. The judge deferred the case hearing till Nov 9.

Hearing in other cases taken up by Courts No 2 and 4 were adjourned till October 19 on the request of the defence. In the Court No 2, two references relating to ARY Gold and SGS had been filed against Ms Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari. In both cases, Ms Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari had been awarded three years’ imprisonment in absentia.

In the ARY Gold case, the owner of the group, Haji Abdur Rehman and brothers, are co-accused, and in the SGH reference, CBR’s former chairman A.R. Siddiqui is co-accused with the PPP leaders.

The Court No 4 adjourned four cases — Polo Ground, Ursus Tractors, unlawful assets and two cases of misappropriation of money — till Oct 19.