The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday admitted for hearing an application submitted by former president Asif Ali Zardari, seeking bail on medical grounds in two cases filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The petition will be heard by an IHC special bench tomorrow.

Zardari is under detention on charges of money laundering and presently undergoing treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad. He was arrested by NAB after the cancellation of his pre-arrest bail by the IHC in the fake bank accounts case on June 10.

In his petition, filed earlier today, he maintained that he is suffering from a heart condition and has had three stents placed in his body. He 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 also admitted for hearing a bail petition filed by Zardari's sister Faryal Talpur. In her appeal, Talpur maintained that she is the mother of a differently-abled child. In order to care for her child, she asked the court to grant bail until the completion of the trail. Her petition will also be heard tomorrow.

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. NAB alleged that the national exchequer suffered a loss of Rs3.77 billion because of the irregularities.

Zardari was shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in October after the medical board stated that he was suffering from cardiac problem, diabetes and other ailments, and needed medical care.

Bail plea ‘at family’s insistence’

A day earlier, PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told the media that his ailing father had agreed to file a bail petition on medical grounds at the "insistence of his family members".

Accompanied by his sisters Bakhtawar and Aseefa, the PPP chairperson expressed concern over the deteriorating health of his father and said the doctors had suggested a “cardiovascular procedure” to trace blockade. “There are two procedures and we want that as soon as possible these procedures are carried out and Zardari gets the treatment,” he said.

“(Former) president Zardari had stopped us from filing the bail petition which was a difficult situation for us, my sisters and the whole family. Now he has accepted Aseefa’s request and, Insha Allah, the PPP will apply for the bail on medical grounds after finalising it,” he had added.

He said the doctors at Pims must be competent, but he and his family did not have trust in them and they would feel satisfaction after getting a “second opinion”.