ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC), Tuesday, extended pre-arrest bail to former president and co-chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari, in a case related to a call-up notice issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) asking details of his alleged ownership of an apartment in New York.
A division bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq heard the case and extended pre-arrest bail to Zardari till September 21.
The IHC bench also granted one-day exemption to Zardari from his personal appearance before the court due to his illness.
The former president moved the court through his counsel Farooq H Naek and cited chairman NAB, DG Rawalpindi, and the investigation officer as respondents in this matter. His medical report from the Ziauddin Hospital was attached to his plea.
The anti-corruption watchdog had issued a notice, along with a questionnaire, to Asif Ali Zardari on June 15, seeking details of the apartment he allegedly owns in Belaire, 524 East 72nd Street, 37F, Manhattan, New York.
Apartment in New York: IHC extends Zardari's pre-arrest bail till Aug 24
In the petition, Zardari's counsel adopted that the notice is baseless and the allegations made therein are based on malafide intentions so as to malign him. He submitted that the petitioner is not in ownership of any property in New York including [the] apartment as of date mentioned in the notice.
He contended that to cause harassment to the petitioner and to politically damage his reputation, respondent NAB had issued several call-up notices to Zardari in different matters and all those notices were assailed at different forums including at the IHC.
The petition also mentioned that Zardari was suffering from several ailments and his earlier confinement had made his medical condition worse and he was currently under the special care of doctors who were monitoring his health. Therefore, council prayed to grant Zardari bail before arrest till final conclusion of trial and in the meanwhile interim bail before arrest be granted.
He also requested the court to declare the said call-up notice issued by the NAB as illegal, malafide, and unconstitutional.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021