Asif Ali Zardari seeks transfer of Toshakhana case to Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday has filed a plea in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking transfer of Toshakhana reference to Karachi from Islamabad.

The former president in his plea stated that all the witnesses are Karachi-based and the related record is also available with different departments of Sindh.

Trial of the case in Islamabad causing problems for the witnesses and the lawyers of the parties in the reference, he added. Terming the filing of reference by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Islamabad against the law, Asif Ali Zardari has pleaded the SC to pass judgment for the transfer of the case to Karachi.

On September 9, an accountability court had declared Nawaz Sharif a proclaimed offender in the Toshakhana reference. Ex-PM Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani are named in the reference for allegedly obtaining luxury vehicles from the treasury by paying 15 per cent of the actual price.

It is noteworthy that the court had indicted Zardari and Gillani in the case on the same date.