March 29, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1429

KARACHI, March 28: The Sindh High Court asked the National Accountability Bureau chairman on Friday to personally explain on April 10 why two proceedings against Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari were still pending in Swiss and British courts despite their withdrawal by the federal government and the NAB.

Attorney-General Malik Mohammad Qayyum told a division bench consisting of Justices Mrs Qaiser Iqbal and Mahmood Alam Rizvi in chamber that the government and the NAB had acted in accordance with the provisions of the National Reconciliation Ordinance of October, 2007, and their undertaking before the court.

Official letters seeking withdrawal of complaints or requests were addressed to the foreign authorities concerned. Proceedings on one request and seven references had since been terminated and he did not know why two of the withdrawn cases were still pending before Swiss and British authorities. The NAB authorities might be aware of the latest position and obstacles, if any, he said.

Representing the PPP leader, Advocate Farooq H. Naek said those responsible for not complying with the court order should be taken to task. Considerable time has elapsed since undertakings were given. The federal attorneys and NAB counsel had promised on the previous date to produce the response of foreign authorities together with the correspondence addressed by the Pakistani authorities. He demanded that the NAB chairman should be asked to clarify the position.

The bench ordered that if the withdrawn proceedings still continue till April 10, the NAB chairman should appear to render an explanation.