Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's troubles seems to be expanding with each passing day as the country's Supreme Court listed a graft as well as a criminal case against him for hearing November 16 and 17.
A statement issued by the apex court Wednesday said both cases, pertaining to 1998-99, titled 'Asif Ali Zardari vs the state,' were added to the apex court's 'Cause List' that was prepared in August and will be taken up by a two-member bench.
"Out of these matters, one relates to the transfer of a case from one court to another while the other case was filed against the order of the High Court of Sindh, Karachi...in which the learned High Court was pleased to release the property of the appellant declared before income tax authorities but restrained to dispose of the same," the statement said.
These cases "were proposed in routine, being old cases relating to the year 1998-99" and should not cause "any misunderstanding", the apex court said without giving details.
The apex court's move came at a time when Zardari's fate seems to hang in balance following the government's decision to drop its plan to seek parliamentary approval for a controversial
law that granted him immunity in graft cases due to pressure from political parties, including allies of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP).
Under an order issued by the Supreme Court July 31, the government had to get the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) endorsed by parliament by November 28.
The apex court's move also came as Zardari has now been accused of receiving millions of dollars in kickbacks during the purchase of three submarines from France in 1994.
According to a report in a leading French newspaper, investigations have revealed that Zardari received 4.3 million dollars in kickbacks from the sale of three Agosta 90 submarines for 825 million euros (approx. USD 1.237 billion).
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