Former president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, was on Monday indicted for money laundering, in the latest of legal actions against him.
Zardari who is a widower of former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, served as the president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013 and is currently a member of parliament.
He has since June 2019 been facing a number of court cases.
Zardari alongside his sister and 14 other people were also indicted.
In a court hearing on Monday, Zardari and his sister denied the charges against them.
Zardari’s charges are related to money laundering through suspicious bank accounts and companies.
According to Zardari’s supporters, the Indictment is part of a wider trend against politicians who opposed the Prime Minister, Imran Khan.
Khan, who won the 2018 election, was accused by Zardari and other opposition politicians, of political victimization and is said to be targeting the opposition in the guise of accountability.
When asked by court reporters for his comments on Monday’s indictment, Zardari replied with a verse in Urdu: “We have passed through such junctures earlier also.”
Another senior Pakistan Peoples Party figure, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, said in an interview that the indictment was a routine process in court proceedings and that the real issue was a lack of evidence.
“Where is the evidence? There is no evidence against Mr. Zardari.
“He has spent several years in jail on trumped-up charges.
“So, it’s nothing for him. But for us the biggest concern is his ailing health, ” he said.
Ahmed added that the government had been increasing the pressure on opposition parties since Sept. 20, after a meeting of opposition groups has called for, among other things, an end to military interference in the Pakistan’s politics.
“These court cases are the usual tactics to intimidate and threaten the political leadership.
“But we are not bothered by such tactics,” Ahmed said.
