KARACHI The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday granted pre-arrest bail to Interior Minister Rehman Malik with a solvent surety in the sum of Rs100,000 each in two cases. Pleading for the applicant, Advocate Kazi Khalid and Advocate Akhtar Hussain submitted before the Division Bench, comprising Justice Ameer Hani Muslim and Justice Syed Zakir Hussain, two bail applications against his three-year conviction each in absentia, awarded by an accountability court in two separate references. The court granted him protective bail after hearing the arguments of the applicants counsels, who pleaded to grant him bail. President Zardari granted pardon to the Minister when the Lahore High Court had dismissed his bail plea against conviction in two corruption references on Monday. The verdict had raised the possibility of the Ministers arrest. The accountability court had sentenced Malik to a three-year prison term in each of the two NAB references in 1997 corruption cases. The prison sentences were declared after the Minister failed to appear in court. In his arguments, Maliks counsel had submitted before the Lahore High Court that no notice was sent to the Minister to appear before the court. Therefore, a verdict given in his absence would be illegal. Malik had challenged the sentence before the LHC which had suspended the rulings against him and had granted him bail. However, the verdict against Malik in the two NAB references stands restored now.