ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari, who has been under detention for the past many months on charges of money laundering and is presently under treatment at hospital, filed a bail petition before the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday.

The bail plea was filed on medical grounds a day after Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told a news conference that his ailing father had agreed to apply for bail at family’s insistence.

An identical petition was filed by Mr Zardari’s sister Faryal Talpur before the IHC, which is expected to take up both pleas seeking bail in money laundering and Park Lane cases for hearing on Wednesday (today).

The petition filed on behalf of the PPP co-chairman states: “The petitioner is a chronic patient suffering from multiple ailments. He is a heart patient having three stents in his heart. He has a Holter monitor attached to his chest so that doctors are able to check and note variations in his heartbeat and blockages in his arteries. The petitioner is a patient of ischemic heart disease, which means that his heart may have inadequate supply of blood and oxygen. This complication of the petitioner is further compounded by the fact that he is a known diabetic. His sugar level fluctuates to dangerously lower and upper level, thus needs constant monitoring.

“The petitioner also suffers from various other ailments such as cervical and lumbar sponsdylosis, sensory and motor neuropathy with impaired proprioception. Needless to state that the petitioner is in a frail state needing utmost, constant and round-the-clock medical supervision.”

NAB arrested the petitioner following the dismissal of his bail plea on June 10, 2019.

The former president remained under detention of NAB for 68 days before being shifted to Adiala jail on judicial remand in August. He was taken to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in October owing to his deteriorating medical condition, according to the petition.

It says the petitioner “is seriously ill and his condition is unstable…the petitioner is chronic patient suffering various ailments including but not limited to cardiovascular disease…the petitioner is, undoubtedly suffering from multiple ailments and as such needs treatment in conducive conditions free from any kind of pressure and stress. In custody, it cannot be said that the petitioner shall have full peace of mind.”

The IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq will hear the petition on Wednesday (today).

JUI leader gets pre-arrest bail

Meanwhile, the IHC granted pre-arrest interim bail to senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) Akram Khan Durrani on Tuesday.

NAB is investigating Mr Durrani’s alleged involvement in corruption in two housing projects of the Federal Government Housing Foundation, in appointment of blue-eyed officer in Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation, allotment of ‘out-of-turn’ plots for mosques and induction in the Pakistan Public Works Department.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2019