Tuesday, as the Park Lane reference was being considered by an accountability court, President Asif Ali Zardari’s attorneys claimed presidential immunity.
Farooq H. Naek and Arshad Tabraiz, Zardari’s advisors, argued that since Zardari has been elected president, he is entitled to presidential immunity. They claimed that the immunity provision prevented the prosecution of the president from moving further.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana of the accountability court oversaw the proceedings.
Next, the court inquired as to whether the co-accused might be named in the case.
In response, Zardari’s attorneys confirmed that the remaining defendants might face legal proceedings.
The prosecutor from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) argued that this was a private bank matter. First, under the current statutes, it must be decided whether this court is even qualified to hear it.
He went on to say that deputy prosecutor Azhar Maqbool Shah has made arguments about other references and that he will make another argument regarding this reference during the upcoming hearing.
The hearing was postponed by the court until April 17.
The Park Lane reference accuses Zardari of using his prior presidency (from 2008 to 2013) to pressure appropriate authorities into granting loans for his “front companies.”
According to NAB, Zardari Park Lane Estate front company, Harish and Company, led the national exchequer to lose Rs. 60 million.
According to reports, the former president obtained a Rs. 1.5 billion loan for Parthenon Private Limited “with ill intention,” and he then used fictitious bank accounts to transfer the funds for his own use.
The former president was charged by the NAB with inflicting a Rs3.77 billion loss to the national exchequer.
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