KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday dismissed a set of identical applications moved by the co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari, his sister and others against an order of a banking court for transferring a fake accounts and money laundering case against them to Islamabad.

The former president, his sister Faryal Talpur, detained chairman of Omni Group Anwar Majeed, his sons, former chairman of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Hussain Lawai and others had challenged the March 15 trial court order before the SHC.

After hearing arguments from the lawyers for the applicants and deputy prosecutor general of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), a two-judge SHC bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh dismissed all the criminal revision applications and said that the reasons would be recorded later.

Representing Mr Zardari and his sister, Farooq H. Naek argued that the NAB chairman in his application before the banking court pleaded for the transfer of the case on the basis of the Jan 7 Supreme Court order, which Mr Naek said was incorrect as no such order for transfer of the case in question was passed by the apex court.

He contended that NAB’s plea was based on misreading of the apex court order passed on Jan 7, adding that the JIT in its final report had asked the apex court to give directions to NAB to inquire and investigate 16 different issues without mentioning the present case.

Lawyer for Omni Group chairman Barrister Jamshed Malik also argued that the apex court had not issued any specific directive about the present case, adding that had the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of the case in question, the trial court would have transferred it upon the intimation of investigating officer and there was no need for NAB chairman to file an application before the trial court for transfer of the case.

Advocate Shaukat Hayat, representing Mr Lawai, contended that since no loss was caused to the national kitty due to the alleged offence, the case did not came within the ambit of NAB, adding that the NAB chairman has no power to file transfer application. He alleged that the banking court order was illegal since it misinterpreted the apex court order.

NAB, through its additional prosecutor general Hassan Akbar, argued that the applications against the banking court order were not maintainable as the order of trial court was based on the guidelines and directions of Jan 7 order of the Supreme Court.

NAB further submitted that the Supreme Court had directed the JIT to associate with NAB for the purpose of assistance in any further probe, inquiry or investigation that NAB may consider necessary in order to satisfy itself about fulfilment of legal and procedural requirements and complete the investigation.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2019