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| Pak court drops cases against Zardari | | | Islamabad | Mar 5
Seven graft cases against PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and a close aide were today dropped by a Pakistani anti-corruption court in line with an order issued last week by the Supreme Court.
The cases against Zardari and his close aide Rehman Malik related to a contentious deal for the import of tractors and alleged amassing of wealth beyond known sources of income.
They dated back to the time when Zardari's late wife, slain Pakistan People's Party chairperson Benazir Bhutto, was the prime minister in the 1990s.
Today's decision by the anti-corruption court in Rawalpindi was widely expected after the National Accountability Bureau, Pakistan's anti-graft body, decided not to pursue corruption charges against Zardari last week.
This followed the Supreme Court's decision on February 27 to vacate a stay order on the National Reconciliation Ordinance, a controversial law passed in October last year by President Pervez Musharraf to grant amnesty in graft cases to PPP leaders, including Zardari and Bhutto.
The anti-corruption court said its decision was made under the NRO. However, Zardari's lawyer Farooq H Naek said the cases against him were "politically motivated and baseless".
The anti-corruption court ordered the release of Zardari's assets and properties that had been frozen or confiscated. These included bank accounts and sugar mills. The court also released Malik's impounded cars.
Zardari spent over eight year in prison following his arrest in connection with these cases. |
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