ISLAMABAD - Former president and co-chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday withdrew his petition filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking his acquittal in the SGS corruption reference pending before the Accountability Court (AC) Islamabad.
Zardari’s counsel, Advocate Arshad Tabrez, appeared before the bench comprising Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi and Justice Athar Minallah and requested the court to withdraw the petition since the accountability court judge has accepted their application for re-hearing of an application filed under section 265-K of CrPC seeking Zardari’s exoneration in this reference.
Previously, an accountability court of Islamabad had turned down Zardari’s application moved under section 265-K on May 28, 2014 and then he filed an application for re-hearing.
Later, Zardari also filed a petition before the IHC that was fixed for hearing on Wednesday while his re-hearing application was pending before the AC. After the accountability court accepted his application of re-hearing, he withdrew the petition from the IHC.
In his acquittal application before IHC, Zardari had submitted that the SGS case was filed against him in 1997 alleging that he received kickbacks from the SGS company that was awarded pre-shipment contract during the premiership of Benazir Bhutto.
The former president maintained before the court that accountability court conducted trial of his co-accused A R Siddiqui and finally acquitted him of the charges on January 04, 2011 finding no evidence against him.
He added that in the accountability court judgment dated July 30, 2011, the accountability court judge while acquitting A R Siddiqui had held that there was no evidence of any misuse of authority or receipt of kickbacks by any of the accused in the reference.
Zardari continued that in the reference that is on photocopies, there is no evidence against him.
Therefore, he requested the court to acquit him from the charges levelled against him in this reference.