Switzerland asked to reopen graft cases against Zardari: NAB

Authorities had written letters to Swiss Attorney General and other officials to reopen the corruption cases that were closed under a controversial graft amnesty issued by ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf, National Accountability Bureau Chairman Naveed Ahsan's lawyer Abid Zubairi informed a seven-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

Zubairi said the international mutual legal assistance that was granted to Switzerland in 1997 and subsequently withdrawn would be restored to facilitate the reopening of cases.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has taken steps to reopen 152 cases in which Zardari is named as an accused and the Foreign Ministry has been asked to cooperate in reopening the cases in Switzerland, Zubairi said. The apex court had yesterday threatened to imprison the NAB Chairman after the government failed to meet a 24-hour deadline to reopen hundreds of graft cases, including those against Zardari and his close aides.

The Chief Justice had also brushed aside Ahsan's contention that Zardari enjoyed immunity from prosecution by virtue of being President and indicated that this issue was yet to be decided by the apex court.  The NAB also told the apex court during today's proceedings that it was awaiting permission from the Law Ministry to take action against former Attorney General Malik Qayyum, on whose request cases in Swiss court against Zardari were closed. The Chief Justice asked Attorney General Anwar Mansoor if the government had fully implemented the apex court's verdict striking down the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the graft amnesty issued by Musharraf, and Mansoor replied in the positive.

According to a report submitted by NAB to the apex court, authorities had taken steps to reopen 16 cases in the Supreme Court and 158 in High Courts that were closed under the NRO. Summons had also been issued to the accused in these cases, the report said.

Earlier, official sources said the government has started implementing the verdict of the Supreme Court striking down the NRO following the court's ultimatum.

A spokesman for NAB said the Supreme Court's "verdict is being put into action as it is" and that all steps have been taken in "complete accordance with the verdict."      In another related development, the Supreme Court today ordered the reopening of a case against Aamir Lodhi, a defence contractor and co-accused in an arms kickbacks case who had benefited from the NRO. Lodhi, the brother of former ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, was linked to kickbacks allegedly paid for sealing a deal for French-made Agosta submarines.

The probe into the submarine deal had led to removal of naval chief Admiral Mansoor-ul-Haq.The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the re-arrest of Federal Investigation Agency Additional Director-General Ahmed Riaz Sheikh to serve his earlier sentence that was waived under the NRO. The court also ordered the confiscation of all his assets.