Pak govt may seek reopening of Swiss cases against Zardari

The Pak government is contemplating reviving through the Swiss court of appeal graft cases against former president Asif Ali Zardari for the return of 60 million dollars stashed in Swiss banks.

The Law Ministry is involved in discussions with a Geneva-based law firm, Python and Peter, and an Islamabad-based firm, Amhurst Brown, to revive cases against Zardari that Swiss authorities closed last year due to a time-bar.

According to Dawn News, sources said the government's legal minds were confident that the Swiss cases could be reopened.

The move comes after a Rawalpindi accountability court's revival of cases that had been kept pending against Zardari because he enjoyed presidential immunity for five years, the report said.

According to the report, an official said the law firm Amhurst Brown had advised the law ministry that it was 'of utmost importance for the government to move fast in the national interest'.

Swiss attorneys Jacques Python and Wolfgang Peter of the firm Python and Peter have already asked the government to clear about 39,800 Swiss francs in outstanding fee, the report added.