ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari was released from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) sub-jail on Thursday, a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) approved his bail on medical grounds.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aseefa Bhutto arrived at PIMS to take Zardari from the hospital to Zardari House in Islamabad.

According to sources, the former president will be flown to Karachi tonight (Thursday) where he will be treated at a private hospital in Clifton.

Zardari’s CT scan, angiography and angioplasty will be conducted at the hospital in Karachi. The former president is suffering from complications of the heart as well as other diseases.

A VIP room has been prepared for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader where he will be treated. A six-member medical board will oversee his treatment which will be headed by Professor Nadeem Qamar.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted post-arrest bail to former president Asif Ali Zardari on medical grounds.

Zardari was arrested in June by Pakistan’s anti-graft body in connection to a high-profile money laundering case. The co chairman of the second largest opposition party, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is accused of setting up fake companies to siphon money out of the country during his tenure as president.

Although the case is ongoing in an accountability court, Zardari has yet to be indicted. In the last six months, the 64-year-old’s health, say his family, has considered deteriorated and he is urgent need of specialized treatment.