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Jamali Govt. may review cases against Benazir

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Nov. 30. Having been reduced to a minority, following the decision of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) to sit in the Opposition, the Jamali Government is believed to be considering a review of the cases against the former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, and her husband, Asif Zardari, as a quid pro quo for her party's support.

Two senior Ministers in the Jamali Government and dissidents in the Benazir party, the Interior Minister, Faisal Saleh Hayat, and the Defence Minister, Rao Sikandar, have reportedly offered their services to mediate with Ms. Bhutto.

A section of the Pakistani media has reported that the two Ministers had sought details of all the cases against the two from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

However, leaders of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) dismiss the reports as yet another attempt to sow "seeds of confusion" in the party rank and file.

Ms. Bhutto has indicated that she is prepared to consider an agreement with the pro-Musharraf parties if they come forward with "solid" proposals. The PPP has suspended three senior Ministers in the Jamali Government who switched "loyalties", but the impression is that the party leadership has been slow in reacting to the moves of the dissidents.

The Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, has said the PPP chairperson, Benazir Bhutto, can return home any time but must face court cases pending against her.

Speaking to newsmen at the swearing-in ceremony of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as Punjab Chief Minister at the Governor's House on Friday, he said there was no bar on the PPP leader to return from her self-imposed exile.

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