Zardari wants Benazir's jewelry seized in Switzerland back

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari wants jewelry of his late wife Benazir Bhutto seized by Swiss authorities back.

The PPP leader has applied for the return of the jewelry worth over 300,000 dollars through an offshore company.

The government of Pakistan has been informed by its lawyer in Switzerland about the latest move by Zardari.

The ornaments were seized in 1997 during the course of investigation of SGS and Cotecna scandal. The case files were closed after promulgation of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in 2008 but the fate of the jewelry was yet to be decided.

The lawyer has sought guidance of the government so that he could submit reply with the Swiss attorney who sought Islamabad’s response within ten days

Barrister Munawar Akhtar, a lawyer from a Pakistani law firm, told Geo News that Pakistan government should oppose this application by the former president within 48 hours as it could be deprived from the ornaments this time around.

When contacted Federal Law Secretary Raza Khan told Geo News that he had no information about the letter since he was on a foreign tour.