Pakistan: Another arrest warrant for jailed ex-leader

Pakistan’s anti-corruption authorities on Monday issued an arrest warrant for already incarcerated former President Asif Ali Zardari in another graft case, local media reported. Zardari, who served as the president of the country from 2008-2013, is already in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), a corruption watchdog, for allegedly laundering more than 35 billion Pakistani rupees ($300 million) through fake accounts. This is the second arrest warrant, in less than a month, for the ex-president who faces investigations for his alleged involvement in multiple corruption scandals, local broadcaster Dawn News reported while Zardari has denied the charges. The development came days after Zardari, the widower of the slain premier Benazir Bhutto, and co-chairman of center-left Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), withdrew his bail applications in all the cases against him, announcing that he would face all the inquiries. Zardari’s supporters claim that these cases are being used to crack down on the opposition. Opposition parties in the country accuse the government of using NAB for “political victimization”. Established by former military ruler retired Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2000, the NAB has often been accused of targeting anti-government politicians.