News
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Names of Zardari, Nusrat removed from Cotecna referenceBy Khalid bin Majeed
RAWALPINDI: An accountability court on Tuesday removed the names of President Asif Ali Zardari and Begum Nusrat Bhutto from the Cotecna reference.
Accountability court No 3 judge Najamul Hassan ordered removal of the president’s name from the reference as he enjoys immunity under the constitution and Nusrat Bhutto’s on medical grounds.
However, the court indicted former Central Board of Revenue (CBR) chairman AR Siddiqui in the case and adjourned the hearing of the case for January 20.
The reference, filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), alleged that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and President Zardari took six percent of the total revenue of pre-shipment for awarding a contract to Cotecna.
The reference alleged that they received $11.8 million in kickbacks for the $131 million contract to supervise Pakistan’s customs service. The commission was paid to an offshore company allegedly owned by Asif Zardari.
Meanwhile, Accountability Court No 4 judge Abdul Haq resumed the hearing of two corruption references against Interior Minister Rehman Malik and directed him to appear in the court personally on the next hearing.
The court adjourned the hearing on the request of the counsel for Malik, who said that he was abroad.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk