Summary A similar incident resulted in Asif Zardari’s acquittal from two corruption cases in December 2014.
Dunya News Report (Madiha Fareed)
ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday it was revealed before the court that key evidence in Asif Zardari’s Illegal assets reference case was found missing from court records. Reports revealed that at least three hundred pages containing National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) investigation officer’s report and witness testimonials were missing from Volume–IV of the case files.
Subsequently the court was unable to record the statements of the witnesses due to non-availability of the case record. The presiding judge Khalid Mahmood Ranjha expressed displeasure over the negligence and summoned a complete record of the case and adjourned the case’s proceedings until next day (today).
The suspicions arise as loss of important evidence escalated the likelihood of Asif Zardari’s acquittal from the case. This is not the first incident of record going missing in PPP Co-Chairman’s corruption trials, a similar incident resulted in Asif Zardari’s acquittal from two corruption cases in December 2014.
The Assets reference case originally filed in June 2001 was reopened in Rawalpindi Accountability Court No.2 in April of last year and former president was summoned to appear before the court. In May 2015, court granted exemption to former president from appearing in the court due to security concerns.
This infamous case is one the six cases filed by NAB against former president. In this case NAB alleged that during Benazir Bhutto’s tenures as Prime Minister, Asif Zardari bought a number of moveable and immovable properties in Pakistan and abroad in the name of his front men and had deposited many kickbacks in different banks in Switzerland. Benazir Bhutto was co-accused in the case; however her name was detached from reference following her assassination.
The Six corruption cases filed against Asif Zardari include ARY Graft Case, Cotecna Reference, Urasus Tractors, SGS pre-shipment, polo-ground reference and assets beyond means case. However all the cases were closed after General Pervez Musharraf issued the controversial and iniquitous National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in October 2007. In December 2009, Supreme Court ordered reopening of these corruption cases in its judgment of NRO case but by then Asif-Zardari had acquired the office of President and was entitled to presidential immunity under Article 248 of the constitution.
In 2014, NAB prosecutor Raja Khurram Ejaz requested courts to reopen the cases since Asif Zardari’s immunity expired in September 2013 with the end of his tenure as president. Later that year, an Islamabad Accountability court acquitted Asif Zardari from three corruption cases - Polo ground case, Urasus Tractors’s case and ARY Graft case. The verdict in Urasus tractors’ case and ARY Graft case was challenged by NAB authorities in Islamabad High Court.
