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| Wednesday, 21 April 2004 |
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Bhutto's husband declines offer to go to Switzerland ISLAMABAD, Tuesday (Reuters) The jailed husband of former premier Benazir Bhutto turned down an offer by the Pakistani government to go to Switzerland for an appeal against a corruption conviction, according to a government minister. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali offered Zardari the option of going to Switzerland to defend himself at the hearing which had been fixed for April 22. But Zardari, who is currently under guard at an Islamabad hospital, declined, citing poor health. "Zardari's lawyer has submitted a medical report in Switzerland saying that he is not fit to travel," Ahmed told Reuters. "We had made all the preparations, but that is his choice." A Swiss court found Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari guilty of money laundering last year and gave them six-month suspended jail terms and fined them $12 million. The case relates to accusations dating back to the 1990s that Bhutto accepted commissions for awarding contracts to two Swiss companies to do business in Pakistan. But Bhutto, who lives in exile, dividing her time between Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Britain, challenged the decision in a superior Swiss court. Musharraf and Jamali took the decision to let Zardari go to Switzerland early on Monday, Ahmed told a private television channel. A leader of Bhutto's Pakistan's Peoples Party (PPP) said Zardari had demurred while he talked over his final response with lawyers, doctors and party leaders. "He has not turned down the offer, but he needs time for consultation," Farhatullah Babar, a senator and PPP spokesman told Reuters. "If he's going he should go as a free man," said Amin Fahim, acting PPP chairman told a news conference. |
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