Former Pak Prez Zardari admitted to hospital

Former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari was on Monday admitted to a premier hospital here to undergo treatment and lab tests following an advise by a medical board, according to a media report.

Zardari, 64, who is also the chief of Pakistan People's Party, was taken to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) from the Adiala Jail following an order last week by an accountability court to act upon the advice of medical officers on Zardari's plea for his shifting to a hospital, the Dawn reported.

Doctors at the hospital performed a medical examination and took samples for labs. The former president has meanwhile been shifted to the cardiology department of the hospital, the report said.

He also spoke to reporters after undergoing the tests.

Last week, Zardari told the accountability court that he is diabetic and suffers from cardiac ailments and needs medical care, the report said.

The accountability court had rejected a plea seeking the transfer of the PPP chief from jail to a hospital.

The court had rejected the plea on the grounds that the matter does not fall in the court's jurisdiction.

Zardari, husband of the country's first woman prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a corruption case on July 1. He was shifted to Adiala jail in August.

According to the NAB, Zardari is being investigated for his alleged involvement in extending loans and other misappropriation by Parthenon Private Limited, Park Lane Estate Private Limited and others.

The 11th president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013 has denied any link with the fake accounts.