Former president Asif Ali Zardari was shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after his health deteriorated on Thursday.

The Pakistan People Party co-chairman was shifted to the hospital amid high security in an armored vehicle.

In order to ensure his security, he was taken into the hospital from the back gate.

According to details, Zardari has been shifted to a VIP ward at the cardiac center of the hospital where a four-member team of cardiologists is observing him.

The shift was recommended by a medical board constituted to examine the health condition of Asif Zardari.

The decision was taken by the Ministry of Interior in light of a report submitted by the board, which had conducted a comprehensive medical examination of the former president at the Rawalpindi prison earlier this week.

Zardari was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in June after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) recalled the Pre-arrest bail granted to him and his sister Faryal Talpur in the fake accounts case.

Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan People Party (PPP), was taken into NAB custody from his residence in the federal capital.

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 wherein it was forwarded a joint investigation team (JIT) report.

Other suspects in the investigation include Omni Group’s Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani Majeed, former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairperson Hussain Lawai and Summit Bank Senior Vice-President Taha Raza.