Fake accounts: Zardari, Talpur get pre-arrest bail

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday granted pre-arrest interim bail to former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur in a case pertaining to laundering of billions of rupees through fake bank accounts.

A two-member bench, comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, approved the bail for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman and his sister against a surety of Rs1 million each.

The bench also issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to submit its response until April 10.

Zardari along with his sister and lawyer Farooq H Naek turned up in the court amid tight security.

The Former president and his sister filed the bail petitions, nominating the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as respondent. They pleaded to the court to restrain the bureau from arresting them until the relevant accountability court hears the case against him.

The former president submitted in his petition that NAB had served a call-up notice on him to appear on March 20 before a combined investigation team to record his statement with respect to investigation into fake bank accounts.

He stated in order to safeguard himself from mala fide and illegal arrest at the hands of NAB and law enforcing agencies of the country and to enable him to surrender before the competent court of law, he had filed a constitutional petition before the Sindh High Court for protective bail. The SHC on March 19 approved protective bail for him for 10 ten days, he said.

Zardari said he also appeared before the NAB team which after interrogating him for one hour handed him a questionnaire with the direction to submit reply to the same within ten days.

“At the moment petitioner is not aware that how many cases are registered against him and how many Call Up notices will be issued to him and /or references may be filed against him by the respondents. Till date three Call Up Notices have been issued by the respondents to the petitioner.”

“There is every possibility that if petitioner appears before NAB authorities in connection with a Call Up Notice, he may be entangled and arrested in some other case,” the petitioner stated, requesting the court grant him interim bail in the case.