LAHORE, Nov 11: Ex-senator Asif Ali Zardari’s defence in a drug-trafficking case against him has finally decided to press for his pre-mature acquittal on the next scheduled hearing of the case on Saturday subject to his appearance in the court.

The application was moved under 265-K CrPC in October 2001. It would be pressed for the first time by the defence since its filing with certain additions to it before the district and sessions judge, Dawn learnt on Monday.

The prosecution confirmed that it had received the notice from the Punjab advocate-general for holding arguments on Zardari’s application on the next hearing. However, it claimed, the application would be opposed unless any instructions were received from the high-ups regarding the acquittal of the accused.

Previously, Zardari had been holding back the arguments on this application owing to his arrest in a BMW reference by the NAB following the grant of bail in the drug case in December last. Prior to its decision of pressing the application, the defence had a feeling that even Zardari’s acquittal in this case would not serve the purpose since he still would in the NAB custody.

As stated by Zardari’s counsel Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, the acquittal, if granted, in this case at this stage would provide a moral ground for subsequent exoneration of the accused in other cases.

“It is appropriate time to press for this plea since acquittal in this case will at least mark the beginning of Zardari’s exoneration in all cases against him,” his counsel maintained.

However, the defence cautioned, this move could be delayed in case Zardari was not produced before the court on the day of hearing due to ailment of his mother or for any other reason.

The defence was likely to add at least three more grounds for the acquittal to the previous one to strengthen their case. It would be pleaded that the total period of accused’s detention since November 1996 exceeded a life term and hence the court could not convict him in this case.

Second, the defence believed that not a single prosecution witness out of seven produced before the court so far had incriminated the accused. Rather, all of them had conceded that they were influenced by the former chairman of the Ehtesab Bureau, Saifur Rehman. According to the defence, the investigating officer himself in his cross examination before the court stated that he was summoned to the office of Saifur Rehman and was asked to choose between his job and termination for not complying with his instructions.

Third, the defence termed the prosecution of the accused in this case persecution since a lot of state money and court’s time had already gone wasted in this exercise especially in the evidence produced during the last one year.

The accused in the application had already pleaded that co-accused Arif Baloch’s statement in which he, according to the prosecution, had alleged Zardari as his patron in drug trafficking was neither signed nor owned by him. According to the accused, in these conditions an FIR could not be lodged against him.