ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari has been acquitted of two corruption charges by an accountability court

The former president has been acquitted in the ARY Gold and Ursus Tractor corruption references.

Accountability court judge Bashir Asif has set the hearing for the SGS and Cotecna reference on December 17.

After the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) illegal in 2009, NAB revived a number of corruption references, including the five in which Mr Zardari was also allegedly involved. These references were: Cotecna, Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), ARY Gold, Ursus tractors and polo ground cases.

Since being president Zardari enjoyed immunity at that time, he did not face trial during the previous government.

However, all the co-accused persons in the five corruption references were acquitted during the tenure of the PPP government.

The LHC also received various complaints filed by the citizens based on press reports according to which in at least three major corruption cases against Mr Zardari – Cotecna, SGS, and ARY Gold - the authors while writing judgments used similar words, expressions and even paragraphs.

Subsequently, the LHC administrative committee/inspection team initiated an inquiry last year about complaints of ‘favourable’ decisions passed by the accountability courts of Rawalpindi in the corruption references against Mr Zardari.

The accountability court of Islamabad reopened the references after expiry of the term of Mr Zardari in October last year.

The former president, however, filed applications for his acquittal without facing trial after he made appearance in the accountability court earlier this year.