Court grants interim bail to Zardari in New York apartment case

An accountability court in Islamabad granted interim bail to former president Asif Ali Zardari in the New York apartment case, it was reported on Tuesday.

The court approved interim bail of the former president against a surety bond of Rs0.5 million.

Asif Zardari appeared in the accountability court along with his lawyers Farooq H. Naik, Arshad Tabraiz, and Barrister Sheeraz.

The court granted interim bail to the PPP leader and adjourned further hearing of the case until November 23.

The NAB had served Asif Zardari a notice along with a questionnaire to provide information about his Belair apartment in New York, United States.

NAB call-up notice: Zardari's pre-arrest bail extended by IHC

He had subsequently obtained pre-arrest bail from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to avoid arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). However, Asif Ali Zardari denied owning the expensive apartment in Manhattan.

In the petition, Zardari's counsel Farooq Naek contended that the notice is baseless and the allegations made therein are based on mala fide intentions so as to malign him.

He submitted that the petitioner is not in ownership of any property in New York including [the] apartment.

He further contended that to cause harassment to the petitioner and to politically damage his reputation, respondent NAB had issued several call-up notices to Zardari in various matters and all those notices were assailed at different forums including at the IHC.

Apartment in New York: IHC summons Zardari

The petition also mentioned that Zardari was suffering from several ailments and his earlier confinement had made his medical condition worse and the former president was currently under the special care of doctors, who were monitoring his health.

The counsel maintained that the petitioner filed the instant petition to safeguard himself against humiliation, harassment, illegal detention, arrest, and lodging of false reference by the respondents on illegal, false, baseless, fabricated, and concocted inquiry and investigation for obvious mala fide reasons and "ulterior motives."