:jhanda:
People shouting: Mujhay meray politicians say bachao:
Politicians consoling: Mera Palace ban jayea tou terie jhuggie banwa doon ga
Pakistan** crying:** Haye Merie Kismet … Meray awam, Meray siasat-daan
Zardari must be cursing his luck. He must be thinking that if it was Pakistan court, he could have got himself free by bribing or influencing the judges, but what a bad luck, that he got stuck with British court, that do not know or care who Zardari is.
BB is also a funny woman, still hoping that Pakistanis would elect her and she would return to Pakistan as Prime minister. But then, probably she knows Pakistani mentality (rather mental state) more than any and believe that most in Pakistan are mentally so retarded that nothing is impossible, as whatever she and her husband do, there would be many Pakistanis who would still vote for her.
Actually, Zardari, BB and NS must be praying every day for short life of Musharraf, so that when there would be no Musharraf, they can return to Pakistan, squash all cases against them and start looting and plundering the country again. They must be thinking that this time, their looting and plundering would be with vengeance and with cooperation with each other.
I have written a few lines depicting time when Baba and Bibi would be able to come back and rule Pakistan again (if that eventuality does ever happen).
***Baba Bibi mil baithain gay ***
Aur khayain gay phir khul kay.
***Zardari kay palace hoon gay ***
Aur qaum rahay gee rull kay
Rockwood may ayeashi ho gee
Raiwand may hoon gay Hal-qay
Bai-Nazeer Malka hoon gee
Aur awam khayain gay chil-kay
Here is Zardari fiasco, regarding his case in British court. British court gave verdict against Zardari:
Jang/The News:
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=3506
LONDON: The High Court of Justice, Queens Bench, here on Friday held that money used by Asif Ali Zardari to purchase the Rockwood Estate and Surrey Palace was corruption money.
The government of Pakistan has established its case that the money used for purchase of the Rockwood Estate and Surrey Palace was corruption money earned through kickbacks and commission received from Swiss Pre-shipment Inspection Companies, the court observed.
“Mr Zardari had concealed his ownership of Rockwood Surrey Palace and now it is time for him to show that the Surrey Palace was not purchased with corruption money,” Justice Lawrence Collins of the London High Court said in his 49 pages judgment.
He added that there was a reasonable prospect for the government of Pakistan to establish that the Rockwood Surrey Palace was purchased by Asif Zardari and Benazir Bhutto with corruption money.
A full trial will commence shortly. The judgment is a victory of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) nine years long stance. The NAB has always claimed that the Surrey Palace was secretly purchased by Asif Zardari and Benazir Bhutto with the proceeds of corruption and their ownership was concealed in a secretive network of trusts and offshore companies.
The government had filed its main case, a “tracing claim” in the High Court of London in March this year. Zardari applied to the English High Court to set aside the Pakistan government’s claim.
The court on Friday dismissed Zardari’s application, thus paving the way for the proceedings to continue under the rapid procedures of the commercial court, which is part of the English High Court. The court also ordered Zardari to pay Pakistan government’s cost ie lawyers fee (35,000 pounds).
“I accept Pakistan’s case that it has a real prospect on merits. Mr Zardari sought to conceal his interest in the Rockwood Estate… Mr Zardari has not answered Pakistan’s case that he did not disclose his ownership of the Rockwood Estate or the defendant companies in his 1995 and 1996 tax returns in Pakistan, or in his assets declarations filed in February 1997 as part of his nomination papers for election to the Senate,” Justice Collins writes in the judgment.
There is direct evidence that the Cotecna/SGS payments were used to source the cost of refurbishment monies for the Surrey Palace paid from a Swiss bank accounts of a company called Bomer and that “there is evidence that Mr Zardari was the beneficial owner and controller of Bomer”, he said, adding: “No explanation has been given by Mr Zardari of the source of the payments into the Bomer accounts… Bomer had no commercial business of its own, and it was a vehicle for Mr Zardari and/or Ms Bhutto. There is material evidence that they were behind a number of other off-shore companies used to receive bribes (while concealing their interests).”
Justice Collins said: “I accept that it is inherently improbable that Mr Zardari would have wished Bomer, which was used to receive funds from SGS and Cotecna, to receive funds deriving from legitimate sources. All the monies in the various Swiss bank accounts seem to have been treated as being effectively part of the same fund.” The judgment continues, saying; “There is, in my judgement, a reasonable prospect of Pakistan establishing that (a) Mr Zardari and/or Ms Bhutto instructed Mr Schlegelmilch and Mr Howard to facilitate the purchase and refurbishment of the Rockwood Estate.”
Accordingly, the English High Court proceedings will commence shortly, and Asif Zardari is finally to explain, as to how he purchased and refurbished the Surrey Palace, after so many years of denials, which he has now admitted being its owner.
This judgment is a step closer to tighten the noose around the accused, as recently Interpol has re-issued Red Notices against Benazir and Zardari after rejecting their appeal against the issuance of these notices.
Dawn: http://www.dawn.com/2006/10/07/nat4.htm
Business Recorder:
http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=484340&currPageNo=2&query=&search=&term=&supDate=
