Zardari released

Co-Chair-man Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari was released on bail in the Park Lane and fake bank accounts cases on Thursday.

Zardari was undergoing treatment at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. He was released from PIMS hospital as his ward had been declared as sub-jail under the jail rules after he was shifted there for treatment.

Zardari was initially shifted to Zardari House, F-8, in Islamabad. The party will decide whether the PPP leader should be flown to Karachi on Thursday or Friday (today).

The former president was accompanied by his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari and senior PPP leaders.

Zardari was accompanied by Aseefa when he was allowed to leave PIMS hospital after completion of legal formalities. A large number of supporters gathered there and threw rose petals on his car.

Talking to media persons, Senator Sherry Rehman said the former president would be shifted to Karachi. She said the authorities of Adiala Jail received the release order of Zardari on Thursday. She said PIMS discharged Zardari after receiving bail papers from the court.

PPP leader and MNA Dr Nafeesa Shah while talking to media persons in front of PIMS said, "We are thankful to all judges who granted bail to Zardari on medical grounds." She said while commenting on Zardari's release said it is a "good day" for the country and democracy.

She said, "We also hope of justice from judiciary in bail pleas of other party leaders who have been arrested by NAB." She said that doctors of Islamabad and Punjab had recommended in their report to grant Zardari bail immediately and shifted him to some other hospital for treatment. She said that the court had given judgment on merit.

She said that Prime Minster Imran Khan and his half cabinet also accused but the NAB was not taking any action against them. She said PPP would continue its struggle for democracy. She said that at difficult time of the party, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto and Aseefa Bhutto showed courage.

She claimed that "selected" PTI government had made the Parliament hostage and now it was trying to make the judiciary and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) hostage.

According to the sources, preparations were complete to shift former president Asif Ali Zardari to Karachi from Islamabad via a chartered flight.

The former president will be treated at a private hospital in Clifton, Karachi. Zardari's CT scan, angiography and angioplasty will be conducted at the hospital in Karachi. A VIP room has been prepared for Zardari where he would be treated. A six-member medical board will oversee his treatment which will be headed by Professor Nadeem Qamar.

On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court granted bail to PPP co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari in the fake bank accounts case.

The IHC division bench led by Chief Justice Athar Minallah allowed bail to the former president on the medical ground, and directed him to deposit Rs 10 million as surety bonds.

Zardari had submitted two separate requests for bail in the Park Lane and money laundering references against him. He requested that he be given bail till completion of the trial against him. The matter of Faryal Talpur's bail was deferred till Dec 17.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Zardari on June 10 after the IHC canceled his pre-arrest bail.

Zardari had been receiving treatment at PIMS hospital in Islamabad since October after a medical board concluded that he was suffering from multiple ailments including heart conditions and diabetes.

Zardari was suffering from multiple diseases including heart patient, having three stents in his heart. He had a Holter monitor attached to his chest for continuous check and monitoring of his heartbeat's variation and blockages in his arteries. He was also suffering from ischemic heart disease which means he had problem of inadequate supply of blood and oxygen.