An Accountability Court of Islamabad has halted proceedings against President Asif Ali Zardari in the Park Lane and Toshakhana vehicle references, granting him presidential immunity.
The decision came following President Zardari's invocation of Article 248(2) of the Constitution, seeking immunity from prosecution.
Judge Nasir Javed Rana, presiding over the case, issued a written decision affirming President Zardari's entitlement to presidential immunity as long as he holds the office. The decision stipulated that proceedings cannot continue against the president while he is in office.
The written decision highlighted that the prosecution did not object to Zardari's petitions nor oppose the grant of immunity. As a result, the court approved his requests for presidential immunity under the Constitution.
The verdict stated that neither there can be a case against the president of the country, nor can legal proceedings continue during the tenure of the presidency.
On March 21, Zardari filed for immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution, seeking to halt the ongoing criminal proceedings against him in the Thatta Water Supply Project, Park Lane as well as the Toshakhana vehicles and fake bank accounts cases.
Article 248 of the Constitution protects high-ranking officials, including the president, from lawsuits for actions taken during their tenure in office. It forbids any criminal actions or arrests while such officials are in office and declares that they “shall not be answerable to any court for the exercise of powers and performance of functions of their respective offices”.
The cases
The NAB had accused Zardari in the Park Lane case with embezzlement through Parthenon Private Limited and Park Lane Estate Private Limited, among other entities. According to the NAB, Park Lane defaulted after accepting a loan of Rs1.5 billion from a joint venture between Summit Bank and the National Bank of Pakistan, which was later increased to Rs2.8 billion.
In the Thatta Water Supply reference, the accused unlawfully granted several contracts to private contractors. Among the accused were Zardari and Ijaz Khan, Hassan Ally Memon, the head of the committee in charge of the procurements for the water supply scheme, Khawaja Abdul Ghani Majeed, the CEO of Omni Group, Menahel Majeed, and nine other people.
The payment of three luxury cars that were acquired from Toshakhana was the subject of the Toshakhana reference. One car was given to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and Mr. Zardari received two. Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is also one of the accused.
