Islamabad (Staff Report): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday granted pre-arrest bail to former president Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur till April 10 in the fake accounts case case.
A two-member bench heard the petitions of the former president and his sister and approved their pre-arrest bail against surety bonds of Rs1 million each.
The court allowed both siblings to submit their surety bonds in cash.
Zardari and Talpur had approached the IHC seeking pre-arrest bail to avoid arrest in the fake bank accounts and money laundering case case.
In the identical petitions filed through their counsels, the former president and his sister alleged that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), instead of investigating the matter itself, had stated before the Supreme Court that there was slow progress in the matter and that the probe was being obstructed.
Strict security measures were taken ahead of Zardari and Talpur's arrival at the high court today. Rangers personnel were posted inside and outside the high court building and all roads leading to the IHC were blocked for traffic.
Earlier this month, a banking court in Karachi had ordered the transfer of the fake bank accounts and mega money laundering case to Islamabad.
The first five suspects in the fake accounts case ─ identified as Aftab Memon, Najam Zaman, Shabbir Bombaat, Hassan Memon and Jabbar Memon ─ were sent to Adiala Jail on judicial remand after an accountability court rejected NAB's plea for an extension in their physical remand.
