Former Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari produced before court; anti-corruption body demands physical remand

Islamabad: Pakistan’s former president Asif Ali Zardari was produced before an accountability court on Tuesday by the anti-graft body seeking his physical remand, a day after he was arrested from his residence in the fake bank accounts case. [caption id=“attachment_1082733” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Asif Ali Zardari. Reuters[/caption] A team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) accompanied by police arrested the Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman hours after the Islamabad High Court rejected his bail plea. Prior to his arrival at the court on Tuesday, a three-member team of doctors conducted a medical examination of the former president. According to NAB sources, Zardari was found to be fit for physical remand. Zardari, 63, and his sister are two of the main accused in the money laundering scandal which utilised fake bank accounts to channel illegally gained funds out of Pakistan. The duo had allegedly made transactions of Rs 150 million through fake bank accounts. Zardari, the 11th President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013, has denied any link with the fake accounts. He said the allegation was part of a vilification campaign by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, to malign opposition leaders. The former president was elected as a member of the National Assembly from the NA-213 Nawabshah seat of Sindh province in last year’s general election. Zardari’s arrest prompted a strong reaction from the Opposition and sporadic protests by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) workers in various parts of the country, mostly in the party-ruled Sindh province. Terming his father’s arrest an act of “political victimisation” by the government, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the constitution guarantees the right of fair trial to every citizen. Bilawal appealed to party workers to remain calm and wait for party directives.