ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday arrested former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the fake bank accounts case.

A team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials reached Zardari House in Islamabad on Monday to arrest former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

The arrest came hours after a Islamabad High Court bench comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Moshin Akhtar Kayani rejected a plea by Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur seeking an extension in their interim bail in the fake bank accounts case.

Issuing its orders, the High Court permitted National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities to carry out arrest of Asif Zardari and Faryal Talpur.

Zardari and Talpur now have the option of appealing the order in the Supreme Court.

The case relates to transactions of hundreds of millions of rupees to the two leaders’ private companies allegedly through fake bank accounts.

Earlier, a team of NAB officials informed the National Assembly Speaker at the Parliament House of Asif Ali Zardari’s arrest warrants.

A large number of police and NAB officials reached Zardari House in the federal capital following the IHC orders to arrest the former president, while police sealed off all routes leading to and from Zardari House to ensure the arrest.

Sources informed Geo News that NAB is expected to keep Asif Ali Zardari in the Bureau’s lockup. It is expected that NAB will not take Faryal Talpur into custody.

Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif urged NA Speaker Asad Qaiser to issue production orders for Asif Ali Zardari.

“Zardari has presented himself before NAB on every occasion and has not used delaying tactics. NAB should have appreciated this and there was no need for an arrest,” leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said in Parliament.