February 21, 2008	Thursday	Safar 13, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 20: Two writ petitions moved by the late PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and incumbent co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in 1998 against their victimization and harassment by the Nawaz Sharif regime were on Wednesday adjourned for submissions by their counsel.

The petitions said the regime had unleashed political vendetta to wreak vengeance and undermine their role as opposition leaders. They contended that a number of politically-motivated cases had been instituted against them by the regime’s ‘ehtesab’ (accountability) bureau and foreign governments were being sought to be involved in the exercise. They particularly questioned the letter written by the then attorney-general, Chaudhry Mohammad Farooq, to the Swiss government for furnishing documents for their prosecution.

Ms Bhutto filed her petition through Advocate Abdul Hafeez Lakho and Mr Zardari through Advocate K.M. Nadeem, since deceased. Mr Lakho was present when the petitions came up before a division bench comprising Justices Azizullah M. Memon and Arshad Noor Khan on Wednesday.

Mr Lakho said the petitions had been heard earlier but could not immediately recall how they were disposed of. It transpired that the petitions were dismissed by the high court on the question of jurisdiction as the impugned actions and the AG’s letter emanated from the federal capital, outside of the court’s territorial jurisdiction. The petitioners challenged the dismissal in the Supreme Court, which remanded their petitions to the high court for disposal on merit. Mr Lakho said he would consult Advocate Farooq H. Naek, the PPP legal adviser and Mr Zardari’s counsel, before making any submission.