KARACHI, Aug 9: An accountability court adjourned on Tuesday the hearing of a corruption reference against former Premier Benazir Bhutto after partly hearing arguments from her defence counsel.

Judge Parkash Lal Ambwani of the AC-4 fixed 17 for the next hearing when defence counsel Hafeez Lakho would continue his arguments.

The reference against Benazir Bhutto pertains to 1,393 illegal appointments and promotions in different cadres and postings abroad in violation of existing rules, regulation and procedure during her last tenure as prime minister.

Others charged with corruption and corrupt practices with the former prime minister, were Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Umer Farooq, former PIA chief; Naheed Khan, Ghulam Hussain Kazi, Ghulam Qadir Shah Jamote, Siraj Shamsudin and Najamul Hasan.

Defence counsel Lakho contended that no prosecution witness, except principal secretary Ahmed Sadiq, deposed against Ms. Bhutto.

He argued that no other person, except Ahmed Sadiq, had even mentioned the name of Benazir Bhutto in relation to her involvement in PIA hiring case.

The defence counsel submitted that Ahmed Sadiq had given a contradictory statement to please the then chairman of the defunct Ehtesab Bureau Saifur Rehman. He had implicated Benazir Bhutto on the condition that his name would be dropped from the list of accused and this fact has been established by the evidence of IO Syed Feroz Shah.

Mr Lakho stated that Ahmed Sadiq levelled allegations just to save his own skin as he was an accused in the original reference, filed against him by then Ehtesab Bureau while his client was not made an accused at that time.

He contended that the prosecution could not prove that Ms Bhutto instructed Ahmed Sadiq for making appointments in PIA.

He argued that the investigation was only based on the statement of Ahmed Sadiq, who himself was an accused in the original reference.

REMANDED: The Judicial magistrate, South, Khusi Mohammad, remanded on Tuesday Mohammad Hashim alias Arif, an accused in the murder case of Daniel Pearl, to police custody for interrogation in another murder case.