ISLAMABAD, May 25: A Swiss investigation magistrate inquiring into the SGS case against PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, has fixed May 30 as the next date for hearing, Dawn learnt here on Tuesday.

The magistrate had on April 20 adjourned the hearing when Mr Zardari expressed his inability to travel to Geneva due to "poor health." At that time, the government had offered Mr Zardari a chartered aircraft to enable him to be in Switzerland to defend himself in the case.

However, the jailed PPP leader, after discussing the matter with Ms Bhutto and his lawyers, had turned down the government offer. PPP spokesman Senator Farhatullah Khan Babar told Dawn that he had spoken to Ms Bhutto on telephone and she had confirmed that the hearing would be held on May 30.

He said Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari had not decided whether they would appear in person or be represented by their counsel. A decision in this regard would be taken after consulting lawyers and it could take another two to three days, he said.

However, he said, it was not mandatory for either of them (Ms Bhutto & Mr Zardari) to appear in person before the investigation magistrate. He said the military government had recently dropped charges against the SGS and hired it again for customs-related services.

The re-hiring of the Swiss pre-shipment inspection company, he said, was a vindication of the decision taken by the previous PPP government to hire the company for this purpose.

He said the SGS had also consistently denied any wrongdoing in the award or implementation of the contract. Mr Babar said the government had yet to meet a PPP demand for a copy of the letter claimed to have been written to the government by the SGS about the settlement of the issue.