Corruption cases reopened against former Pakistan PM

Corruption cases against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif have been reopened in Pakistan, and a court today ordered the arrest of his younger brother ahead of their return home from exile next week.

An anti-terrorism court in the eastern city of Lahore ordered the arrest of Shahbaz Sharif, younger brother of the former premier, in a murder case, said Aftab Ahmed Bajwa, a lawyer for the plaintiff.

Nawaz was toppled by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in a 1999 coup and then sent into exile in Saudi Arabia. He has said he will come back to Pakistan to challenge the military leader’s bid to extend his rule and run for parliament, despite threats he could be re-arrested.

His younger brother is charged with ordering police to kill five men who were gunned down in Lahore in 1998. At the time of the killings, Shahbaz was the chief minister, or top executive, of Punjab province. Nawaz was Pakistan’s prime minister.

On Wednesday, the father of one of the victims asked the court to arrest Shahbaz after hearing that he was due to return to Pakistan, Bajwa said. Shahbaz has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, an anti-corruption court in Rawalpindi held a hearing in a case involving allegations that the Sharif family defaulted on a bank loan and owned property beyond their known sources of income, said Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta, a prosecutor for the state National Accountability Bureau.

The cases date back to 2001 and 2002. Hearings had been adjourned for years, but were reopened late last month following an application by the government.

Bhutta said the prosecution sought a hearing in the case on Monday – the Sharifs’ planned date of return to Pakistan – but the judge on today adjourned the case until September 13 to ensure the next hearing takes place after the Sharifs are inside the country. The brothers are currently in London.

Musharraf, a key US ally in the war on terror whose popularity has shrunk since his failed attempt to fire the country’s top judge earlier this year, has repeatedly said that the Sharifs must remain in exile for 10 years under the terms of a deal reached in 2000. But the Supreme Court ruled last month they were free to enter Pakistan and that their return should not be obstructed.

Thousands of Sharif supporters are planning to converge on Islamabad to welcome the former premier, but there are expectations that authorities may try to block them, and there could be unrest.

Musharraf is expected to seek re-election by lawmakers by mid-October, but has yet to make a public commitment to resign as army chief if he continues as president. Many experts say that to keep his uniform – the main source of his power – beyond 2007 would violate the constitution.

To help smooth the way, Musharraf is trying to strike a deal with another exiled former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, that could lead them to share power.