Asif Zardari shifted to hospital over health complications

He was shifted to hospital Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology.

RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Incarcerated former president and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has been shifted to hospital after his condition deteriorated.

According to sources, the former president’s condition worsened in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) due to which he was shifted to hospital Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology.

It is pertinent here to mention that the doctors had conducted Zardari’s medical tests during which his heartbeat, blood pressure was normal but his diabetes level was found to be low.

NAB said it was taking care of suspect Asif Zardari. NAB said two medical boards checked former president and his health condition is normal. He was just taken to RIC for a routine checkup.

Zardari s party however said it was not formally informed about deterioration in health condition of the co-chairman.

On Tuesday, Former president and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday surrendered himself to a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur’s pre-arrest bail plea in the money laundering case.

Following the refusal of his pre-arrest bail, a team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) accompanied by police personnel had reached the residence of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in order to arrest him.

Asif Zardari was taken to NAB office in Rawalpindi where he was shifted and to cell no 2. The former president will be presented before the accountability court on Tuesday where the NAB will appeal for his remand.

Heavy contingent of police had been deployed near Zardari House to avoid any untoward incident. All the roads leading to Zardari House had been sealed off.

Small scuffles erupted between police and supporters of Zardari s Pakistan People s Party (PPP) outside his family s residence in Islamabad as he was taken into custody.

The charges in the latest case centre around allegations Zardari laundered vast sums of money through suspect bank accounts and companies.

NAB is conducting investigations in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the money laundering of billions through fake accounts case wherein it forwarded the joint investigation team (JIT) report with directions to investigate and file references.

Earlier, the case was being heard in a banking court in Karachi but had been shifted to an accountability court in Islamabad upon an appeal by the NAB.

Last year, authorities discovered several accounts in the name of poor people that had been flooded with cash, then suddenly emptied. Supreme Court established a commission in September to investigate the scourge, finding that at least US$400 million had passed through "thousands of false accounts".

Zardari has repeatedly dismissed allegations he had a hand in the scheme. Never popular and always shrouded in controversy, Zardari -- who was once jailed for 11 years for corruption -- stepped down from the president s office in 2013. But he has continued to serve as co-chairman of the opposition PPP.

The arrest comes as the economy continues to spiral and discontent simmers in Pakistan following repeated devalutions of the rupee, soaring inflation, and rising utility prices.