Asif Ali Zardari granted bail in suspicious transactions case

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday granted bail to former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on medical grounds in suspicious transactions case.

NAB has accused Zardari of carrying out suspicious transactions worth Rs8 billion. However the IHC has stopped the NAB from arresting Asif Ali Zardari.

Earlier, accountability court had indicted Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur in mega money laundering reference.

The court had also rejected Asif Ali Zardari’s plea seeking acquittal in mega money laundering, Park Lane and Thatta water supply references.

In December 2019, former president Asif Ali Zardari was released on medical grounds after an accountability court in Islamabad issued separate robkars [mandamuses] in the money laundering through fake bank accounts cases against him.

The former president was granted bail against two surety bonds of Rs10 million each. NAB’s prosecutor general Jahanzaib Bharwana and deputy prosecutor general Sardar Muzafar Abbasi represented the anti-corruption watchdog, while Farooq H. Naek argued on behalf of the former president. During the hearing, NAB submitted Zardari’s medical report prepared by a five-member medical board, which was constituted on IHC’s orders to examine the former president.