Zardari granted interim bail in NY property case

An accountability court on Tuesday granted interim bail to former president Asif Ali Zardari in New York Property case till November 23.

AC-II Judge Muhammad Azam Khan heard the pre-arrest bail petition of the former president who appeared before the court in person along with his legal team.

Farook H Naek pleaded that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted interim bail to his client and now they have approached the trial court after the amendments in the NAB ordinance. “The ordinance empowers accountability courts to hear the interim bail cases,” he said.

After listening the arguments, the court granted interim bail to Asif Zardari till November 23, and sought comments from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the plea.

The NAB had alleged former president for holding flat in New York City which he didn't disclose in his nomination papers submitted to the ECP. Earlier, the IHC bench had granted protective bail to Asif Zardari and instructed him to approach the trial court for more relief.

Later talking to the reporters, former President and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari has said that those who brought Imran Khan to power are now admitting that they made a mistake.

Read More: IHC grants 15-day bail to Zardari in NY property case

Journalists briefly spoke to the former President during his appearance at the Islamabad Accountability Court on Tuesday, where he was due for a hearing.

Answering a question about the government, Zardari said that those who brought Prime Minister Imran Khan into power now admit that they made a mistake. He even prophesied that “Imran Khan's government will not complete its term,” adding that “now Allah knows best how to fix this mistake.”

A journalist asked Asif Zardari on what he thought about the news of a former judge submitting an affidavit that former chief justice Saqib Nisar had asked him to reject bail applications of Maryam Nawaz and Nawaz Sharif.

He replied that Maryam Nawaz is like my daughter and I will not discuss her petition. He added that “we have already seen this. In the past, Justice Qayyum had a tape [phone calls] with Saifur Rehman and some friends.”