Zardari gets presidential immunity

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has been granted presidential immunity in the Park Lane and Toshakhana references

The decision came following President Zardari’s invocation of Article 248(2) of the Constitution, seeking immunity from prosecution.

Judge Nasir Javed Rana, presiding over the case, issued a written decision affirming President Zardari’s entitlement to presidential immunity as long as he holds the office. The decision stipulated that proceedings cannot continue against the president while he is in office.

The written decision highlighted that the prosecution did not object to Zardari’s petitions nor oppose the grant of immunity.

As a result, the court approved his requests for presidential immunity under the Constitution.

The verdict stated that neither there can be a case against the president of the country, nor can legal proceedings continue during the tenure of the presidency.

PARK LANE CASE

Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur and other accused face charges of corruption through fake bank accounts and embezzlement in the financial facility for Park Lane Private Limited and Parthenon (Pvt) Limited.

The Park Lane case is being investigated under different sections of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, over Zardari’s alleged involvement in a loan and its misappropriation by Parthenon Private Limited.

A loan worth Rs 1.5 billion was taken from a bank and transferred to the company’s account in a private bank.

TOSHAKHANA REFERENCE

The NAB had filed a reference with the accountability court against the former heads of the state for not depositing luxury vehicles and valuable gifts received from the foreign leaders in the treasury.

NAB sources said that former president Asif Ali Zardari had only paid 15 per cent of the total cost of the vehicles received as gifts through fake accounts.

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