Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday granted pre-arrest bail to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari.

According to details, IHC directed Asif Ali Zardari to submit surety bonds of 0.5 million rupees and barred National Accountability Bureau from arresting the former president.

A day earlier, the court rejected the request to hear Zardari’s pre-arrest bail plea in absentia. Commenting on the remarks, Justice Aamer Farooq said that the presence of the applicant is necessary in pre-arrest bail cases.

PPP co-chairman had filed a bail plea after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) opened an investigation into a New York apartment allegedly owned by Zardari.