ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s presidential race took an acrimonious turn yesterday as prosecutors confirmed they were pressing ahead with corruption cases against opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, a revelation his supporters said appeared politically motivated.
The main governing party downplayed the court activity.
But the news threatened to further sour Pakistan People’s Party’s relations with Sharif, a popular figure whose Pakistan Muslim League (N) holds the second-largest number of seats in Parliament and which was just days ago part of the ruling coalition.
Asif Ali Zardari, head of the largest party in Parliament and widower of slain ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is expected to easily win the presidency in Saturday’s vote by lawmakers. Sharif’s party is fielding a retired judge as its candidate.
In mid-August, parties of Sharif and Zardari forced longtime US ally Pervez Musharraf to quit the presidency. Sharif left the coalition soon after over disputes about who should succeed Musharraf and how to restore judges that the former president sacked last year.
Both Zardari and Sharif have been saddled with corruption allegations over the years, but Zardari has seen cases against him vanish in recent months, thanks in large part to a deal struck with Musharraf to pave the way for Bhutto’s return to the country.
Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta, a top prosecutor with the National Accountability Bureau, confirmed yesterday that it moved late last month to challenge a court decision to indefinitely adjourn a set of cases against Sharif, also a former prime minister.
The cases stretch back years, and their accusations against Sharif include money laundering, loan defaults and accumulation of wealth beyond his known sources of income.
“It appears to be aimed at using the accountability courts against Nawaz Sharif,” said the opposition leader’s lawyer, Khwaja Haris. “It appears to be used for political ends.”
Sharif aide Ahsan Iqbal said pursuing the cases smacked of political bankruptcy. “Sometimes, if you cannot get things done politically, then you try to blackmail the opposition,” he told Dawn News TV. “I would still hope that the ruling party would refrain from such tactics.”
Members of Zardari’s party insisted the judicial proceedings had nothing to do with them. Information Minister Sherry Rehman said Zardari’s party “will not pursue the politics of revenge.”
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, meanwhile, said the accountability bureau, which the new government has vowed to reform, “has no value.”
Zardari has garnered the support of several political factions and parties in recent days, making him a virtual lock for the presidency. His party aides are calling him the “consensus candidate,” even though Sharif’s party and the main pro-Musharraf block oppose him.
The widower has stunned many by becoming the country’s most powerful politician, despite holding no elected position.
