An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday allowed Asif Ali Zardari’s close aide Dr Asim to go abroad for treatment, two weeks after he was released by Sindh High Court (SHC) in Rs479 billion corruption cases.
Dr Asim, also the president of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Karachi division, walked free on March 31 after spending 19 months in custody.
Annulling its earlier order of including Asim’s name in the Exit Control List (ECL), the ATC ordered him to submit surety bonds amounting to rupees two million, Express News reported.
The PPP leader, however, will also have to be granted permission from SHC to go abroad since his passport is in possession of the latter.
Dr Asim Hussain granted bail – finally
Earlier, the Rangers prosecutor told the court Dr Asim will not return to the country if he were allowed to go abroad “on the pretext of treatment.”
On Wednesday, the high court’s referee judge, Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar, whose opinion was sought on the split verdict of a two-judge bench, granted bail to Dr Hussain subject to furnishing a Rs5 million surety and surrendering his original Pakistani and Canadian passports.
The paramilitary Rangers had taken Dr Hussain into ‘preventive detention’ on August 27, 2015, for three months over his alleged involvement in corruption. Observers had declared it a major arrest of any leader of the PPP opposition following a crackdown on corrupt politicians and officials in Sindh.
Dr Asim’s bail plea: SHC appoints referee judge
Later, he was handed over to the police in connection with a case related to alleged treatment and harbouring of terrorists at his private health facilities in Karachi. On November 1 last year, the SHC granted Dr Hussain bail in the case.
However, the PPP leader remained in jail seeking bail in corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against alleged graft of Rs479 billion.
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