ISLAMABAD: The former president and co-chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari has been released on bail on Thursday against the two surety bonds of 10 million rupees each.
The PPP co-chairman was granted bail by the IHC on Wednesday, more than five months after he had been taken into custody by the national graft-buster on charges of financial corruption and money laundering.
The PPP leader was taken to Zardari House in the capital. Although he was expected to fly to Karachi today, the party decided against it.
Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said Zardari will spend the night at his Islamabad residence and will be shifted to Karachi tomorrow.
The former president was accompanied by his children Bilawal and Aseefa when he was allowed to leave Pims, which had been declared a sub-jail, after the completion of legal formalities. A large number of supporters gathered at the scene and threw rose petals on his car.
A two-judge IHC bench – comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Amir Farooq – cited medical grounds for granting bail while directing Zardari to submit two surety bonds worth Rs10 million each to secure his release.
The 64-year-old has been in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) since his arrest on June 10 following the cancellation of his pre-arrest bail by the IHC.
Zardari has been receiving treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad since Oct after a six-doctor medical board concluded that he was suffering from multiple ailments – including heart conditions and diabetes – and needed medical care.
