Pak court rejects acquittal pleas of Zardari in 2 cases

In a jolt to former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari, a court Monday rejected his acquittal pleas in two old cases of corruption.Zardari was implicated in five cases in the 1990s by then government of Nawaz Sharif, who is also the present prime minister of Pakistan. All the cases were linked to corruption when Zardari’s wife Benazir Bhutto was prime minister of the country. He has already been declared innocent in the Polo Ground, ARY Gold and URSUS tractor cases. Geo TV reported Monday that an accountability court rejected the acquittal plea in the SGS and Contecna references and directed that the trial will begin from January 8 and has summoned the prosecution witnesses. The case was heard in the accountability court of Justice Muhammad Bashir. Filed in 1997, the SGS reference alleged that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari had received kickbacks in a pre-shipment contract between SGS and the government.