KARACHI, 10 October 2007 — A Pakistani court yesterday dismissed former Premier Benazir Bhutto’s request to grant her a pre-emptive bail against any arrest ahead of her planned return home from exile next week, her lawyer said.
A government lawyer ruled out the possibility of Benazir’s arrest because President Gen. Pervez Musharraf signed an amnesty last week dropping corruption charges against her and others, lawyer Farooq Naik said.
Benazir fled Pakistan into self-imposed exile in 1999 to avoid arrest in cases over alleged corruption during her two governments in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She plans to return via Karachi on Oct. 18 to contest parliamentary elections due by January.
Musharraf decreed a law last week that granted clemency to the politicians and bureaucrats over corruption charges dating from 1986 until 1999.
That followed months-long negotiations between Musharraf and Benazir over a possible power-sharing deal between the two moderate, pro-Western leaders.
Benazir’s Pakistan People’s Party had petitioned the Sindh High Court to issue her a “bail before arrest” to pre-empt any possible arrest on her arrival, Naik said.
“The court has settled the issue after the government lawyer assured it that there is no plan of her arrest on her arrival,” Naik told the Associated Press.
“Under the ordinance all the court cases ceased to exist and thus there is no point for the government to arrest her,” Naik quoted the state lawyer as saying in the court.
The Interior Ministry said yesterday it would provide protection for Benazir after her return. “When she comes to Pakistan we would provide full security to her,” ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema told reporters when asked about reports that the government will import bulletproof cars for Benazir’s use.
Benazir’s party says she faces threats from extremists, though Cheema said he was not aware of any specific threats.
