Former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari arrested

Former President and co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari was arrested on Monday at his residence in Islamabad by a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for his alleged involvement in a fake bank accounts scam.

Earlier in the day, his plea for bail extension was rejected by the Islamabad High Court. According to sources, the legal team of Mr. Zardari, who is also a Member of the National Assembly, will appeal against this order in the Supreme Court.

Several people are named as accused in the fake bank accounts case. They include Mr. Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur and some of his close associates.

The case came to the fore in 2015 following an investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The FIA said fake accounts were used to park ill-gotten wealth, which was later sent out of the country through money laundering channels.

The PPP says the case is based on false evidence and is political in nature.

According to investigative journalist Zahid Gishkori, the fake accounts case involves around PKR 100 billion of black money, allegedly used by Mr. Zardari, his sister Ms. Talpur, their partners and other businessmen. The anti-corruption watchdog has arrested around two dozen accused so far.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) recommended 28 corruption references against the accused, and its report was also endorsed by the apex court. The JIT and the NAB are working jointly where they have found details of more than 25,000 transactions linked to over 54 fake accounts.

Mr. Gishkori told The Hindu that it will be a litmus test for the NAB to prove the allegations against the accused in a court of law. “It is like a second Panama case in Pakistan’s history where only politicians remain the prime target of accountability institutions, whether it is NAB, JITs or FIA.”

He added that intelligence agencies have helped in collection of evidence in both the Panama case and the fake accounts case.

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, PPP chairman and Mr. Zardari’s son, went to the National Assembly after the arrest of his father. He was not allowed to speak by the Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who adjourned the session amidst protests by the Opposition. Mr. Bhutto-Zardari addressed a press conference later. He called for the resignation of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker for acting as an ‘extension’ of the government instead of being impartial.