SC sets date for hearing Zardari, Faryal Talpur’s plea to transfer graft cases

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has set the hearing of a petition from former President and PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur seeking to shift their graft cases to Sindh province on May 25, ARY NEWS reported on Friday.

Both Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur have reached out to the apex court to get their cases transferred to the province from Islamabad as the latter is facing a single reference against her while the former is facing trial in five NAB references.

A three-member special bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising of Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah will hear the case on May 25.

The Supreme Court has issued notices for the hearing to the NAB and other respondents in the case.

On November 3, Asif Ali Zardari approached the SC, requesting the court to transfer the graft cases filed against him by the NAB from Islamabad’s courts

to similar courts in Karachi where he lives.

He stated in his plea that he can’t appear in accountability courts in Islamabad due to his illness as he was suffering from various ailments and had been critically ill. He said the cases were being heard in Islamabad courts despite the fact that all the accused persons, witnesses and documents are from Karachi.

During a previous hearing, Asif Zardari’s lawyer Farooq H Naek contended that it’s his client’s right to file a plea for transfer of a case under the NAB law, which couldn’t be taken away by the court through the verdict.

Justice Bandial noted that the cases were filed in Islamabad by the NAB on the basis of various accusations. He said the corruption watchdog filed the references in Islamabad on the court order.