Pakistani court orders arrest of ex-PM Gilani over graft charges
A court in Pakistan has issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, over his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal during his tenure.
An anti-corruption court in the southern port city of Karachi on Thursday ordered the arrest of Gilani along with Makhdoom Amin Fahim, an ex-commerce minister, on charges of graft, corruption and misuse of authority.
The court issued an arrest warrant without bail against the two, directing the police to arrest the accused immediately and bring them for trial on September 10.
Both former officials, who are leaders of the main opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), are accused of embezzlement and involvement in the loss of some USD 67 million in public money.
According to the charges, Gilani and Fahim received kickbacks for ordering billions of rupees to be paid out to several phony companies in fraudulent trade subsidies between 2009 and 2012.
The warrant was issued after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) presented the final charges against the PPP leaders.
The move also comes a day after Pakistani law enforcement agencies arrested Asim Hussain, a close confidant of former President Asif Ali Zardari.
The administration of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has launched a crackdown against corruption under pressure from the country’s powerful army. Dozens of politicians and bureaucrats have been arrested in recent weeks.
However, critics accuse the premier of targeting his political opponents in the anti-corruption campaign.
The PPP has been previously accused of wide-scale corruption, most notably allegations against its current co-chairperson, Zardari.
On September 8, 2013, Zardari became the country’s first president to complete his constitutional term and hand over duties to another democratically elected president, Mamnoon Hussain.
For slightly less than half of its existence, Pakistan has been under military rule or military-dominated governance.
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