PTI withdraws ECP petition against Zardari, plans to pursue case in SC

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman on Thursday said that he plans on pursuing the concealment of assets case against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the Supreme Court as he withdrew his petition filed in the Elec­tion Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

On December 21, Zaman, in his petition, had accused Zardari of owning an apartment in Belaire Condomi­niums located at 524 East 72nd Street, New York, but not declaring it in his nomination papers for the 2018 general elections. He had subsequently moved the ECP seeking Zardari’s disqualification from the National Assembly.

The PTI lawmaker, during the hearing of his petition in the ECP today, asked for his petition to be retracted, claiming that “we have found evidence that we will present at the highest forum only”.

Zaman, on the instruction of ECP member from Sindh Abdul Ghaffar Soomro, submitted a handwritten request, saying: “I want to take this case to the Supreme Court because I believe the evidences I have acquired […] are pivotal and in the best interest of Pakistan.”

He later held a media talk outside the ECP office in which he claimed to have found more evidence against Asif Zardari. “The evidence has been verified. Our preparation is complete,” he said.

“We want to bring this case to a logical conclusion, so we asked the ECP to allow us to take it to the Supreme Court.”