Pakistan’s former president Asif Ali Zardari was arrested on Monday from his residence here in the fake bank accounts case by the country’s top anti-corruption body, even as his party appealed for calm.
A team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)accompanied by police, including female officials, entered the PakistanPeople’s Party co-chairman’s house hours after the Islamabad High Courtrejected his bail plea.
However, his sister Faryal Talpur was so far not arrested.
The brother-sister duo now have the option of appealing theorder in the Supreme Court.
Initially, Zardari’s supporters and political aides resistedthe arrest but later the security team was allowed to enter the house and the63-year-old leader surrendered after negotiation.
TV footage showed Zardari coming out of his house andembracing his younger daughter Aseefa before getting into a black Landcruiser.
A number of party workers and Zardari’s son Bilawal saw himoff as the former president was driven away in the vehicle.
The vehicle took him to the NAB compound in Islamabad’sMelody areas where he would kept till he would be produced before the court.
Zardari, the 11th President of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013,has denied any link with the fake accounts. He has said the allegation was partof a vilification campaign by the ruling party to malign opposition leaders.
He was elected as a member of the National Assembly from theNA-213 Nawabshah seat of Sindh province in last year’s general election.
Zardari and his sister are two of the main accused in themoney laundering scandal which utilised fake bank accounts to channel illegallygained funds out of Pakistan.
The arrest warrants were issued on Sunday by the NAB, theanti-corruption watchdog, which is probing them in the fake bank accounts case.
According to the NAB officials, the duo made transactions ofRs 150 million through alleged fake bank accounts.
Meanwhile, the PPP has called a consultative meeting todiscuss the future legal options of Zardari and Talpur.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s spokesperson MustafaNawaz Khokhar appealed to PPP supporters across the country to remain peaceful.
“We are waiting for IHC’s written order,” he said,adding that future strategy will be decided once the party receives the order.
Former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani told the media thatZardari courted under protest and the party would contest it at all forums.
“I request the speaker of National Assembly to issueorders to produce him (Zardari) in the House as he is member of theparliament,” Gilani said.
There were reports of protests by PPP supporters in Lahoreand Karachi but no major disturbance was witnessed.
Zardari was arrested when the National Assembly was insession and another former premier of PPP, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, demanded thatthe speaker should issue order to bring Zardari to the House.
However, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi opposed themove and urged the speaker to take action only after he was duly informed aboutthe arrest.The cases against Zardari are part of theinvestigations being conducted by NAB in pursuance of the Supreme Court’sverdict in the money laundering of billions through fake accounts case.