KARACHI, Nov 30: The accountability court on Wednesday acquitted former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and four others on corruption charges involving appointments to the state-owned carrier, court officials said.

“The prosecution has failed to prove its case against any of the accused. I, therefore, acquit all the accused,” Judge Parkash Lal Ambwani of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said in his judgement.

The case relates to some 800 appointments to the national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), during her second term in office.

Benazir was accused of causing heavy losses to the state by allegedly offering jobs at PIA to supporters of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

The defendants in the case included her political secretary, Nahid Khan, and former PIA chairman, retired Air Vice Marshal Omar Farooq.

The case was filed in May 1997 after Nawaz Sharif replaced Benazir as prime minister.

Except for Benazir, all four co-accused were present when the judgement was announced.

This was the oldest case against Benazir who is still facing about half a dozen other corruption charges, her party officials said. The court room was packed by PPP workers.—AFP