–PPP chief says JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman will achieve goal of ousting PTI govt
ISLAMABAD: Former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari was brought to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Tuesday for treatment and lab tests on the recommendation of a medical board constituted by the Adiala jail authorities.
Last week, an accountability court had ordered jail authorities to act upon the advice of medical officers on Zardari’s plea for his shifting to a hospital. The former president is currently on judicial remand in the fake accounts case.
The PPP leader was brought to the hospital from Adiala jail in an armoured vehicle.
Doctors at the hospital performed a medical examination and took samples for labs. The former president has meanwhile been shifted to the cardiology department of the hospital.
Talking to reporters after reaching the hospital, the former president said, “God willing, Maulana Fazlur Rehman will achieve his goal [of ousting the government].”
“Aisa tau hota hai aise ma’amloun mai [that’s the way the cookie crumbles],” he replied when told that containers have been placed and arrests are being made to thwart the protest.
Last week, the PPP leader had told the accountability court that he is diabetic and suffers from cardiac ailments and needs medical care. The accountability court, however, had rejected a plea seeking the transfer of the PPP chief and former president from jail to a hospital.
The court had rejected the plea on the grounds that the matter does not fall in the court’s jurisdiction. Judge Mohammad Bashir, while pronouncing the decision, had directed Zardari to approach jail authorities instead. According to the verdict, jail authorities can declare a hospital a sub-jail through an executive order.
The court also ordered the jail superintendent to act upon the recommendations of the medical officers or a medical board.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Zardari on June 10 after cancellation of his pre-arrest bail by the Islamabad High Court in the fake bank accounts case. On Aug 16, the court had sent the former president to Adiala jail on judicial remand.
The case pertains to a massive money laundering scam that was previously being probed by the Federal Investigation Agency. The suspects include Zardari, Talpur, former Pakistan Stock Exchange chairman Hussain Lawai, Omni Group CEO Anwar Majeed and his sons and several other high profile persons. The case was later taken over by NAB on the Supreme Court’s orders.
