Pak court extends remand of Zardari's sister for 14 days in fake accounts case

An accountability court on Monday extended till July 8 the physical remand of Faryal Talpur, the sister of former president Asif Ali Zardari, in a case related to money laundering through fake bank accounts.

Talpur, 61, was arrested by the officials of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Islamabad, days after the anti-graft body apprehended her brother and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Zardari on June 10.

The NAB presented Talpur before the court on Monday. Her counsel, Lateef Khosa, said that her client has nothing to do with Park Lane apartments and is not even its director, Geo Tv reported.

The accountability court extended her physical remand till July 8.

The NAB is investigating four cases where the former president and his sister are the prime accused.

Zardari and his sister are two of the main accused in the money laundering scandal which utilised fake bank accounts to channel illegally gained funds out of Pakistan.

According to the NAB officials, the duo made transactions of Rs 150 million through alleged fake bank accounts.

The cases against Zardari are part of the investigations being conducted by NAB in pursuance of the Supreme Court's verdict in the money laundering of billions through fake accounts case.

In the report, NAB listed down at least eight cases where Zardari's link had been established. It further added that 22 inquiries and three investigations were underway while three references had been filed.

Zardari, the 11th President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013, has denied any link with the fake accounts. He has said the allegation was part of a vilification campaign by the ruling party to malign opposition leaders.