ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered to freeze all properties of Zardari and Omni groups and Bahria Town mentioned in a report of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing fictitious bank accounts case involving illegal transactions of billions of rupees.
A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard the suo-motu case at the apex court’s Lahore registry.
The court imposed an immediate ban on sale and purchase of the properties under investigation in the case.
The Federal Investigation Agency is investigating 32 people in relation to money-laundering from fictitious bank accounts, including ex-president and Pakistan Peoples Party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur. Zardari’s close aides including Hussain Lawai, Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani have already been arrested in connection with the case.
During the hearing, a summary of the JIT report was shown on a projector in the courtroom. The report revealed that payments for the upkeep of Bilawal House’s pets was also made through the fake bank accounts.
The report claimed that the expenses of Zardari family’s residences in both Karachi and Lahore — commonly known as Bilawal House — were paid through fake bank accounts. The court was informed that the Zardari Group had obtained 53.4 billion rupees in loans, of which 24 billion rupees was secured from the Sindh Bank, even though the bank as per rules could only have granted 4 billion rupees loan.
The court was informed that 60-story Bahria Icon Tower in Karachi was erected illegally on government land and Zardari Group holds 50 percent shares in it.
About Talpur, the JIT report claimed that 1.2 billion rupees went into her account, from which land was procured in Tando Allahyar and Lahore cities.
The chief justice noted that expenses of Zardari and Bilawal House were paid through companies operating fake bank accounts.
“It is a matter of billions of rupees and we will not forgive. We cannot pardon those who looted this amount,” the chief justice remarked.
In 2015, when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched probe into the report submitted by its Financial Monitoring Unit, the agency discovered 29 fake bank accounts were used in PKR 35 billion money laundering. Since then a number of fake bank accounts have been discovered used in a PKR 101 billion money-laundering ring.
The JIT’s findings linked the fake bank accounts to Zardari, claiming that his personal expenses were also paid through these accounts’ funds.
The court directed the FIA’s request to place the names of the accused on no-fly list to the Interior Ministry.
Notices were issued to Zardari, real estate tycoon Malik Riaz and his son-in-law Zain Malik, instructing the JIT report to be shared with all the accused.
The apex court has adjourned the case till December 31, directing lawyers of the accused to submit their replies in the case.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) dissed the JIT report by terming it as “political victimization” of PPP leadership.
Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, spokesperson to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, termed the JIT report as “ridiculous,” saying his party would consult the legal team on the JIT report to “formulate a strategy.”
SC orders to freeze assets of Zardari, Omni groups, Bahria Town under probe
SC orders to freeze assets of Zardari, Omni groups, Bahria Town under probe
- JIT report holds Zardari, Omni groups and Bahria Town responsible for transactions through fake bank accounts
- An estimated PKR 101 billion is believed to have been laundered using fake bank accounts
Cross-border clash breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions
- Border residents say exchange of fire in the Chaman border sector lasted nearly two hours
- Both governments issue competing statements blaming the other for initiating the violence
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan witnessed yet another border clash, according to officials in both countries who spoke in the early hours of Saturday, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
Fighting erupted in Pakistan’s southwestern Chaman border sector, with an AFP report saying that residents on the Afghan side of the frontier reported the exchange of fire began at around 10:30 p.m. (1800 GMT) and continued for roughly two hours.
The incident underscored how tensions remain high between the neighbors, who have seen deadly clashes in recent months despite several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye that resulted in a tenuous truce in October.
“There has been unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements in the Chaman Sector which is a reckless act that undermines border stability and regional peace,” said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.
“Pakistani troops responded with precision, reinforcing that any violation of our territorial integrity will be met with immediate and decisive action,” he continued.
The official described Pakistan’s response as “proportionate and calibrated” that showed “professionalism even in the face of aggression.”
“The Chaman Sector exchange once again highlights the need for Kabul to rein in undisciplined border elements whose actions are destabilizing Afghanistan’s own international standing,” he added.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly bitter since the Taliban seized power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in August 2021.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which have carried out deadly attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, targeting civilians and security forces.
The Taliban deny the charge, saying Pakistan’s internal security challenges are its own responsibility.
The Pakistani security official said his country remained “committed to peaceful coexistence, but peace cannot be one-sided.”
“Attempts to pressure Pakistan through kinetic adventurism have repeatedly failed and will continue to fail,” he said. “The Chaman response has reaffirmed that message unmistakably.”
He added that Pakistan’s security forces were fully vigilant and that responsibility for any escalation “would solely rest with those who initiated unprovoked fire.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, also commented on the clashes in a social media post, saying the Afghan Taliban had “resorted to unprovoked firing along the border.”
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces,” he wrote.
https://x.com/mosharrafzaidi/status/1997025600775786654?s=46&t=JVxikSd5wyl9Y96OwifS5A
Afghan authorities, however, blamed Pakistan for the hostilities.
“Unfortunately, tonight, the Pakistani side started attacking Afghanistan in Kandahar, Spin Boldak district, and the forces of the Islamic Emirate were forced to respond,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.
https://x.com/zabehulah_m33/status/1997018198508818891?s=48&t=x28vcP-XUuQ0CWAu-biScA
Border clashes that began in October have killed dozens of people on both sides.
The latest incident comes amid reports of back-channel discussions between the two governments, although neither has publicly acknowledged such talks.
