Islamabad (Web Desk) Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was released from prison on Thursday, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted him bail in the fake bank accounts case.
A large number of PPP supporters gathered outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in the federal capital and greeted their leader.
The PPP supremo was showered with rose petals and a heavy contingent of security escorted him from the premises.
Earlier in the day, the lawyers of the former president moved to finish legal formalities. Two surety bonds worth Rs10 million each were submitted to the accountability court.
However, the registrar of the court asked the counsel to resubmit the bonds along with relevant documents, after they are verified from the local district office.
The former president was granted bail on Wednesday by a two-member bench comprising IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamir Farooq.
The PPP leader was granted the bail against two surety bonds of Rs10 million each.
During the hearing of the bail plea, Asif Ali Zardari’s counsel Farooq Naek submitted the medical reports of the former president to the court.
Additional Prosecutor General Jahanzeb Bharwana and Deputy Prosecutor General Muzaffar Abbas appeared before the court on behalf of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The NAB prosecutors read the medical report of the former president upon the directions of the bench.
Last week, the IHC had admitted a bail petition filed by Asif Ali Zardari seeking bail on medical grounds in the fake accounts case initiated against him by the NAB.
The petition stated that former president has been suffering from multiple diseases — like diabetes, cervical lumbar and spondylosis, sensory and motor neuropathy with impaired proprioception.
The petition added that Zardari has a Holter monitor attached to his chest, enabling doctors to check and note variations in his heartbeat and blockages in his arteries.
The former president was arrested in June this year for his alleged role in a multi-billion rupees money laundering case.