Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday approved the bail of former president Asif Ali Zardari on medical grounds and asked him to submit surety bonds worth Rs10 million.
A week earlier, Zardari, who is under detention on charges of money laundering and presently undergoing treatment at a hospital, had agreed to file a bail petition on medical grounds at the insistence of his family members.
His lawyers had moved the IHC for his bail.
It had been announced by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari during a brief news conference after meeting his ailing father at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) last Monday.
In his petition, Zardari had maintained that he was suffering from a heart condition and has had three stents placed in his body. He had said that he also suffers from diabetes which means that he has to constantly monitor his blood sugar levels.
The PPP co-chairperson’s medical reports were also submitted along with the application to the IHC so that bail may be granted.
The high court had also admitted for hearing a bail petition filed by Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur. In her appeal, Talpur had maintained that she is the mother of a differently-abled child. In order to care for her child, she had asked the court to grant bail until the completion of the trial.
Zardari, Talpur and other accused face charges of corruption through fake bank accounts and embezzlement in the financial facility for Park Lane Private Limited and Parthenon (Pvt) Limited. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleges that the national exchequer suffered a loss of Rs3.77 billion because of the irregularities.
Zardari was shifted to PIMS in October after the medical board stated that he was suffering from cardiac problem, diabetes and other ailments, and needed medical care.
