Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari skips court appearance due to food poisoning

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former president Asif Ali Zardari today failed to appear before an anti-corruption court due to food poisoning, his lawyer said.

Zardari's counsel Farooq Naek told the court that the former president was suffering from food poisoning and was vomiting and should be granted exemption from appearance.

Justice Khalid Mehmood Ranjha of the court accepted the request and adjourned the case till May 13.

The court in garrison city of Rawalpindi is hearing a case of corruption registered in 2001 against Zardari, who is accused of making illegal assets in 1990s when his slain wife Benazir Bhutto was the prime minister.

The case has dragged on for years due to several reasons. It was dropped in 2007 under a controversial political deal with former military ruler Pervez Musharraf but later it was reopened on the Supreme Court order.

Zardari enjoyed immunity as the President during his tenure from 2008 to 2013.

He once again faces the law when anti-corruption watchdog - National Accountability Bureau (NAB)- reopened the case last month.