Hakim Zardari jailed, fined in corruption case

An accountability court yesterday found Hakim Ali Zardari - the father-in-law of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto - guilty of corruption and gave him a five-year jail term, court officials said.

The Accountability Court Judge Azizullah Memon also fined Zardari Rs18.5 million for amassing illegal wealth, including property, which wasn't shown on the tax papers.

Zardari would face another two-year jail term if he fails to pay the fine.

The court also confiscated million rupees worth of his property, which were not shown in the book and barred him from holding any public office for 10 years.

Zardari also will not be able to get a loan from any state-run bank or financial institution, the court order said.

Bhutto's jailed spouse Asif Ali Zardari is also facing 13 cases, including of corruption, drug smuggling and murder.

She herself is charged for six cases of graft since her ouster from power on similar charges in 1996. Bhutto, twice elected prime minister, is living in a self-imposed exile to avoid arrest since early 1999.

She declares the cases against herself and family members as part of government's victimisation campaign to oust her from Pakistan's politics.