Accountability court releases Asif Zardaris assets

The Rawalpindi Bench of Pakistans National Accountability Bureau, today dropped five of the seven corruption cases against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his aide Rehman Malik under the provisions of the National Reconciliation Ordinance and released the formers assets.

Rawalpindi, Mar. 5 : The Rawalpindi Bench of Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau, today dropped five of the seven corruption cases against Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his aide Rehman Malik under the provisions of the National Reconciliation Ordinance and released the former's assets.

The NAB court terminated the SGS, ARY Ursus Tractor and Polo Ground references against the PPP leaders.

The court also ordered the release of frozen and confiscated assets, including accounts, sugar mills and some other assets.

The court has also released the impounded cars of former Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) Director Rehman Malik.

Asif Zardari had spent over eight years behind bars in connection with some of these cases.

Farooq Naek, who represented Zardari before the NAB, described the cases against Benazir Bhutto and Zardari as a bundle of lies.

Talking to newsmen after the cases dropped against Zardari, Naik said the justice has finally been served.

"Nothing has been proved against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari, so the court has lifted freeze on their all assets," the lawyer said.

A decision on remaining BMW and Cotecna cases is pending.

The accountability courts should now be abolished, Naik demanded, adding these courts must not be used against political leaders.

He said the government spent hundreds of thousand dollars from the national exchequer on these cases.

ANI