ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday granted 15-day protective bail to former president and co-chairperson PPP Asif Ali Zardari in a case related to a call-up notice issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) asking for details of his alleged ownership of an apartment in New York.
A division bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq conducted hearing of the case and also directed him to approach the relevant accountability court to get bail in this case. During the hearing, NAB’s special prosecutor general Jahanzeb Bharwana and deputy prosecutor general Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi appeared before the court and presented amendment ordinance 1 and 2 before the high court.
The IHC chief justice asked that the fourth NAB amendment ordinance has arrived so far or not. At this, the NAB prosecutor said that the third ordinance has arrived. The attorney general said that the accountability court has to grant bail under the new ordinance. Justice Aamer Farooq questioned that whether the accused could move to the high court for getting pre-arrest or post-arrest bails. The attorney general said that the NAB court has powers to grant pre-arrest or post-arrest bail. The attorney general added that the NAB ordinance was only introduced in the National Assembly.
Justice Athar remarked that it is mandatory to present the ordinance in both houses of the Parliament under Article 89 of the Constitution. Later, the high court extended protective bail of Asif Ali Zardari for 15 days besides ordering him to secure the bail from the concerned court.