Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, her husband Asif Ali Zardari and federal minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Thursday filed petitions in a Pakistani court for withdrawal of corruption cases against them in keeping with a new law granting them amnesty in the matter.
The counsels for the three leaders filed petitions in the accountability court in Rawalpindi for withdrawal of the cases registered against them by the National Accountability Bureau. The court issued notices to the bureau and adjourned the matter till tomorrow.
The National Reconciliation Ordinance promulgated by President Pervez Musharraf on October 5 granted amnesty to Bhutto and other political leaders in corruption cases registered between 1986 and 1999 provided they have not been convicted.
The ordinance, issued on the eve of the controversial presidential poll that was swept by Musharraf, paves way for Bhutto's return to the country to lead her Pakistan People's Party in the general election.
Farooque H Naik, the counsel for Bhutto and Zardari, filed petitions seeking the withdrawal of certain references in cases registered against them for alleged irregularities in the award of a licence to a firm to import gold and silver and for the alleged payment of kickbacks by a Swiss firm.
Interior minister Sherpao also filed a plea in the accountability court for withdrawal of a reference to the Islamabad New City Project under the provisions of the National Reconciliation Ordinance.