ISLAMABAD - Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator Rehman Malik on Thursday warned the government not to expose former president Asif Ali Zardari to COVID-19 by arresting him. 

Expressing his concerns over the issuance of arrest warrants for former president Asif Ali Zardari, he said the National Accountability Bureau should refrain from arresting him because of his serious medical history. 

He said the government was claiming a sharp drop in coronavirus cases in the recent past while Asad Umer had all of the sudden created a hype to impose section 144. 

He said, “I have stated last week that government has section 144 in its bag to use against Pakistan Democratic Movement making the excuse of Covid-19.” 

He said on the other hand, it was highly condemnable that the government wanted to expose former president Asif Ali Zardari to high risk to COVID-19 hype and take him to jail. 

Malik said that Asif Ali Zardari’s medical report submitted by the medical board to the Senate Standing Committee on Interior showed that his health was going down day by day and he was suffering from multiple diseases which was a matter of public record. He said it would be fatal if he was exposed to COVID-19 with illness and his age factor. 

Malik said, “I warn PM Imran khan and his cabinet that they will be held responsible in case of any untoward incident to Asif Ali Zardari. It will be a criminal act warranting FIR if anything happens to Zardari.”