ISLAMABAD, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's anti-graft body the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has issued an order to arrest former president Asif Ali Zardari in a money laundering case, local media reported.

According to the reports on Friday, NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal gave approval for the issuance of the arrest warrant of Zardari, leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and husband of the former late prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The arrest order was issued after Zardari refused three times to appear before the bureau to answer the questions about the case.

NAB is conducting investigations in pursuance of the verdict by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the money laundering of billions of rupees through fake bank accounts.

The accountability watchdog authorities alleged that the former president, who ruled the country from 2008 to 2013, has been found directly involved in the illegal money transfer to other countries through fake bank accounts.

Last week, NAB officials told the Islamabad High Court that the bureau has enough evidence to prove Zardari, the main beneficiary of the fake bank accounts, guilty.

NAB will reportedly submit the arrest order before the court on June 10, requesting it to allow the anti-graft bureau to arrest him for an investigation into the case.

Pakistan has been running an anti-corruption campaign since 2016 and has arrested several politicians, bureaucrats, contractors and businesspersons for their involvement in financial corruption.

In 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif for having any public position in a case of having assets beyond known means. Later in 2018, an anti-corruption court sent Sharif to jail for a period of 10 years after he failed to prove the source of the money he spent to buy luxurious apartments in London in the 1990s.