Court rejects Zardari's plea for transfer to Karachi

An accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday rejected a plea seeking permission for moving Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari to Karachi for medical treatment.

The decision on the application was given  by judge Azam Khan after the former president's lawyer completed his arguments.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor,  during the hearing, said that Zardari was moved to the hospital on the recommendation of a medical board the government had set up to oversee his health.

Meanwhile, Faryal Talpur's counsel Farooq H. Naik filed an application seeking better facilities for  sister of Zardari.  

The NAB prosecutor opposed the plea, saying that B-class facilities were being withdrawn from all the inmates under an ordinance. 

While furnishing a copy of the ordinance, he said that all the prisoners are being given C-class facility in jails now.

Naik argued that the ordinance  has now become a bill, accusing the NAB prosecutor of misrepresenting the facts.

He said Talpur was already availing B-class facility contrary to the NAB prosecutor's claim that every inmate is getting C-class.

Moreover, the court allowed Talpur to meet Zardari after she sought permission through an application.

She was expected to meet Zardari at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) where he is being treated.

Zardari was arrested in June after his bail application was rejected in connection with a high-profile money laundering case - also known as the fake bank accounts  case - that saw millions allegedly siphoned out of the country.