LAHORE, Aug 10: PPP Federal Council secretary-general Khalid Kharal and Foreign Liaison Committee chief Munir Ahmad Khan have alleged that a Swiss magistrate’s verdict against Ms Benazir Bhutto was being blown out of proportion in the media to tarnish the image of the former prime minister.

At a news conference here on Sunday, they alleged that the National Accountability Bureau had spent huge amounts to get the decision. To enable the nation to know how much money had been spent to get the decision, the entire correspondence between the NAB and the magistrate should be made public, they said.

Mr Kharal said the decision must be challenged in accordance with the law.

Mr Khan said so far Ms Bhutto and her spouse had not received certified copies of the decision.

Answering a question, Munir Ahmad said Ms Bhutto had nothing to do with the accounts or the necklace attributed to her. The former prime minister and Mr Zardari, he said, had also no link with the companies mentioned in the case.

The PPP leaders were of the view that Gen Musharraf was using the verdict to deflect people’s attention from the LFO, his moves to recognize Israel and hold talks with India.

They said in case of an appeal, former NAB chiefs Gen Khalid Maqbool (now Punjab governor) and Gen Amjad would have to appear before the court and be cross-examined.

The issue, they said, was not of $10 million or $20 million. The real issue was whether Ms Bhutto was involved in corruption, abuse of office or violation of law regarding the money in question.

“The entire Swiss matter stinks of an intelligence operation to frame a popular political leader with a view to bringing leadership change in the PPP and in Pakistan. Therefore, this will backfire on its authors,” they said.

The PPP leaders said the Supreme Court had already remanded the same case against Ms Bhutto and her spouse for retrial, and there was no justification for any other trial on the same charge.