July 08, 2008	Tuesday	Rajab 4, 1429

KARACHI, July 7: Justice Khwaja Naveed Ahmed of the Sindh High Court put off on Monday the hearing of a succession application moved by the PPP leader, Asif Ali Zardari, for transfer of the late prime minister, Benazir Bhutto’s, bank accounts in Pakistan to Tuesday.

The application said Ms Bhutto, Mr Zardari’s wife, was assassinated on December 27, 2007. She had about 10 accounts in different banks in the country. As her husband and legal heir, he was entitled to acquire and operate the accounts.

The SHC office pointed out that the application was not accompanied by no-objection certificates and affidavits by other legal heirs. Besides the NOCs of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar and Asifa, the son and daughters of Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, the late leader’s mother and widow of the late premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, is also a legal heir.

Advocate Adnan Karim, who filed the application on Mr Zardari’s behalf, requested the judge to keep the matter pending to enable the applicant to meet the office objection. The judge put off the consideration of the application to July 8.

The accounts, about 10 in as many banks, have a total amount of over Rs2,030,000. Two of the accounts, one each at HBL, Clifton, Karachi, and UBL, Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad, have no amount at all. Three of the accounts were jointly operated by Ms Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto.