KARACHI: The interim bail of former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur was extended on Wednesday till February 14 by a banking court in the money laundering case.The banking court, however, deferred a decision on the bail plea of Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son, Abdul Ghani Majeed, till February 6. Zardari and Talpur attended the hearing along with Pakistan Peoples Party leaders and activists. The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) prosecutor said the case was being transferred to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and urged the court to halt proceedings on the bail-related requests.The hearing saw a terse exchange between the judge and the FIA prosecutor, as the judge expressed displeasure over the absence of the agency’s investigation officer and its failure to submit case records.Former chairman of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Hussain Lawai, Summit Bank’s Taha Raza, Anwar Majeed and Abdul Ghani Majeed are in custody over charges of facilitating money laundering – to the tune of over Rs4 billion – through at least 29 fake bank accounts.Zardari, Talpur and 16 other bankers and businessmen have also been booked in the same case. INP
