Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent | September 04, 2008
TEN days after he split from Pakistan's ruling coalition, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is again facing the prospect of prison after the National Accountability Bureau, now run by presidential frontrunner Asif Ali Zardari, reactivated corruption charges against him.
As it did so, a leading newspaper claimed Mr Zardari - set to be elected president on Saturday - had presented more than 200 medical certificates to various courts to delay corruption charges against him before he returned to the country last December.
The News said the NAB, controlled at the time by former president Pervez Musharraf, had questioned the authenticity of these certificates, including one stating that as recently as a year ago he was suffering from severe mental disorders, including suicidal tendencies.
The government at the time considered the certificates to be fake, according to the Pakistani daily, which quoted a source within the NAB as saying: "We wrote to the London High Court (where the certificates relating to Mr Zardari's alleged mental disorders had been filed) and told them that the government of Pakistan believes that the report was a case of perjury and meant to delay the proceedings in the corruption case."
London's High Court constituted an independent medical board to ascertain whether Mr Zardari really was suffering from psychological disorders, the paper reported.
But before it could meet, the NAB cell investigating Mr Zardari and his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, was closed last year after Mr Musharraf struck an agreement allowing Bhutto, then leader of the Pakistan People's Party, to return home from exile. Mr Musharraf granted an amnesty to Mr Zardari and Bhutto for all corruption charges brought against them.
The revelations have created new turbulence around his bid for the presidency in Saturday's election.
Unabashed, Mr Zardari has turned his sights on Mr Sharif in a move that could see his arch-foe removed from the political scene and returned to prison.
Mr Sharif, whose government was overthrown by a military coup led by Mr Musharraf, was spared a long prison sentence on corruption and tax evasion charges in 2000 following the intervention of the Saudi royal family. Instead he was exiled to the Saudi kingdom, where he stayed until his triumphant return last November.
Polls show Mr Sharif, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League (N) party, is far more popular than Mr Zardari, and analysts believe that if a national election were held now, the PPP would be hard-pressed to win.
By reactivating charges against Mr Sharif, Mr Zardari is seen to be returning Pakistan to the politics of retribution so prevalent in the early 1990s when their parties were fierce rivals.
A top Sharif aide, Ahsan Iqbal, said pursuing corruption cases against his leader "smacks of political bankruptcy".
"Sometimes if you cannot get things done politically, then you try to blackmail the opposition. I would still hope that the ruling party would refrain from such tactics."
Also yesterday, gunmen shot at a motorcade en route to pick up Pakistani prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in an apparent assassination attempt.
Officials confirmed Mr Gilani was not in the vehicle when two bullets hit his armoured car in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
TEN days after he split from Pakistan's ruling coalition, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is again facing the prospect of prison after the National Accountability Bureau, now run by presidential frontrunner Asif Ali Zardari, reactivated corruption charges against him.
As it did so, a leading newspaper claimed Mr Zardari - set to be elected president on Saturday - had presented more than 200 medical certificates to various courts to delay corruption charges against him before he returned to the country last December.
The News said the NAB, controlled at the time by former president Pervez Musharraf, had questioned the authenticity of these certificates, including one stating that as recently as a year ago he was suffering from severe mental disorders, including suicidal tendencies.
The government at the time considered the certificates to be fake, according to the Pakistani daily, which quoted a source within the NAB as saying: "We wrote to the London High Court (where the certificates relating to Mr Zardari's alleged mental disorders had been filed) and told them that the government of Pakistan believes that the report was a case of perjury and meant to delay the proceedings in the corruption case."
London's High Court constituted an independent medical board to ascertain whether Mr Zardari really was suffering from psychological disorders, the paper reported.
But before it could meet, the NAB cell investigating Mr Zardari and his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, was closed last year after Mr Musharraf struck an agreement allowing Bhutto, then leader of the Pakistan People's Party, to return home from exile. Mr Musharraf granted an amnesty to Mr Zardari and Bhutto for all corruption charges brought against them.
The revelations have created new turbulence around his bid for the presidency in Saturday's election.
Unabashed, Mr Zardari has turned his sights on Mr Sharif in a move that could see his arch-foe removed from the political scene and returned to prison.
Mr Sharif, whose government was overthrown by a military coup led by Mr Musharraf, was spared a long prison sentence on corruption and tax evasion charges in 2000 following the intervention of the Saudi royal family. Instead he was exiled to the Saudi kingdom, where he stayed until his triumphant return last November.
Polls show Mr Sharif, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League (N) party, is far more popular than Mr Zardari, and analysts believe that if a national election were held now, the PPP would be hard-pressed to win.
By reactivating charges against Mr Sharif, Mr Zardari is seen to be returning Pakistan to the politics of retribution so prevalent in the early 1990s when their parties were fierce rivals.
A top Sharif aide, Ahsan Iqbal, said pursuing corruption cases against his leader "smacks of political bankruptcy".
"Sometimes if you cannot get things done politically, then you try to blackmail the opposition. I would still hope that the ruling party would refrain from such tactics."
Also yesterday, gunmen shot at a motorcade en route to pick up Pakistani prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in an apparent assassination attempt.
Officials confirmed Mr Gilani was not in the vehicle when two bullets hit his armoured car in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
Source: The Australian
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