Arrest warrants issued against Benazir

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, MAY 12. The former Prime Minister, Ms. Benazir Bhutto, has been declared a `proclaimed offender' and `perpetual arrest warrants' have been issued against her in a case pertaining to assets and bank accounts beyond her known sources of income. The warrants were issued by an Accountability Court in Rawalpindi on Friday for not responding to the repeated summons for personal appearance.

The court has fixed May 21 as the next date of hearing. The warrants were issued on completion of month-long legal formalities and on the receipt of reports by the process servers who were summoned six times from Karachi.

The development is significant as Ms. Bhutto is seriously considering her return to Pakistan, ending a two-year exile after the Supreme Court recently quashed a lower court verdict against her in a corruption case.

Reports said the warrants against her were displayed at all public places and her residences in the country. Neither the accused nor her lawyers were present in the court.

According to the provisions of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), if an accused fails to appear for the next hearing after being declared an absconder, he/she could be awarded three years rigorous imprisonment. In the event of Ms. Bhutto's non- appearance before the court, she could be awarded imprisonment in absentia.

In a related development, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, husband of Ms. Bhutto, pleaded not guilty while testifying before an accountability court and described all cases against him as false and politically motivated.

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Section  : International
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