Islamabad : Pakistan’s accountability bureau arrested on Monday former president Asif Ali Zardari in a money laundering case after his interim bail was rejected by the Islamabad High Court. He was arrested from outside his house in Islamabad’s F-8.
His medical test will be conducted at the NAB office and he will be presented before an accountability court on June 11, Tuesday.
The NAB team investigating the money laundering and fake accounts case already obtained arrest warrants for the PPP co-chairperson and were waiting outside the Islamabad High Court to arrest him. However, Zardari left the court before the verdict was announced. It was earlier reserved. He reportedly did not get permission to leave the court before the verdict was announced and just left. The court had told him to wait for the verdict.
Zardari’s next step will be to approach the Supreme Court and ask it to suspend the high court’s order. He got an extension in his pre-arrest bail five times and was on bail for two months and 12 days.
The FIR for the case was filed in Karachi. A banking court was hearing it but it was transferred to NAB Islamabad after the Supreme Court handed over the fake accounts case. The investigation is still in the inquiry stage. It pertains to NAB’s claims that a company owned by Zardari and his sister, Faryal Talpur, received Rs30 million of Rs4.4 billion in suspicious transactions carried out through fake accounts.
The arrest warrants have only been issued for Zardari, not his sister.
Three NAB teams have arrived at Zardari House to arrest the former president. However, NAB has told its team to wait before arresting the former president. It even approached the speaker of the National Assembly first to get approval for his arrest.
The NAB team even stopped people from entering or leaving Zardari House.
The speaker of the National Assembly has said he will not allow Zardari to be arrested inside Parliament. He will have to be arrested outside Parliament if it is necessary.
The PPP has already announced that if he is arrested, they will stage a protest. However, Bilawal has urged workers across the country to remain peaceful as they wait for the written order.
Analyst Ali Haider said that the timing of the case and this decision is important to note, as the Economic Survey is supposed to be released today and the budget tomorrow. He said Zardari’s arrest could overshadow other happenings in the country. However, he cautioned that the courts are independent and their decisions are made on merit.
