ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court IHC on Thursday extended its stay order against the indictment of PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari in Rs8.3 billion suspicious transactions reference.

A court bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamir Farooq took up a petition filed by Zardari against an Islamabad Accountability Court’s Oct 14 verdict rejecting his acquittal plea in the reference.

IHC had issued a stay order against the indictment of Zardari in a reference pertaining to a suspicious transaction of Rs8.3 billion. Petitioner’s lawyer Farooq H. Naek pleaded that the trial court had fixed October 28, a date to indict his client. He argued, their petition in IHC would become ineffective if the accountability court frames charges against accused on next hearing.

He prayed the court to issue a stay order against the trial court’s decision dated October 14, regarding the indictment. After listening arguments, the court had issued stay orders and sought comments from National Accountability Bureau NAB on the plea till November 4.

It may be mentioned here that the former president had challenged the decision of accountability court for dismissing his acquittal plea in above reference. However, the trial court had fixed the hearing of the reference today to frame charges against the accused.

Zardari linked the acquittal plea to the recent amendments made to the country’s accountability law. His counsel stated before the court that his client cannot be indicted in the case after the promulgation of the National Accountability NAO Ordinance, 2021.

It may be noted that on Oct 28, Accountability Court, had deferred indictment of Ali Zardari in the Rs8.3 billion suspicious transactions case due to stay order issued by IHC against framing of charges against him till November 18 after written order of the IHC regarding stay order against indictment of the accused persons in the case produced before.