ISLAMABAD: Pakistan announced Thursday it would ban former president Asif Ali Zardari from traveling abroad following allegations of money laundering, as the nation marked 11 years since his wife, prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated.
Information minister Fawad Chaudhry told reporters in Islamabad that Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur were among 172 people involved in cases of money laundering and use of fake bank accounts.
“All the 172 names ... will be added to the ECL (Exit Control List),” he said.
Zardari, co-chairman of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party and who was president from 2008 until 2013, has long been the subject of corruption allegations, and is widely known in Pakistan as “Mr Ten Percent.”
The announcement coincided with the 11th death anniversary of his spouse and two-time former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack during an election rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.
Earlier this week Chaudhry said a joint investigation team (JIT) had found evidence of how Zardari allegedly laundered money through fake bank accounts and companies.
“I hope Zardari will now take the JIT seriously,” he said Thursday, adding that his government would not spare anyone involved in plundering national wealth.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, who came to power in July, has vowed to squash rampant corruption and recover billions siphoned from the country as his government scrambles to shore up Pakistan’s deteriorating finances and fast-depleting foreign exchange reserves.
Zardari’s travel ban comes days after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to seven years in prison for corruption on Monday, the latest in a long string of court cases against him.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from politics for life over graft allegations in 2017, ousting him from power. His Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was defeated by Khan in the July polls.
A Pakistani court established a commission in September to investigate the scourge of corruption, finding that at least $400 million had passed through “thousands of false accounts,” using the names of impoverished people.
The commission said some 600 companies and individuals “are associated with the scandal.”
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Pakistan ex-president Zardari faces travel ban over graft
Pakistan ex-president Zardari faces travel ban over graft
- Zardari among 172 people accused of graft
- Investigating team had found him guilty of money laundering
Pope Leo urges end to bombing, calls for dialogue amid Iran, Middle East violence
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo said on Sunday that deeply troubling news continued to arrive from Iran and across the Middle East, urging an end to the violence and renewed efforts to open space for dialogue.
Speaking at the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said the conflict was fueling fear and hatred and raised concerns that it could spread further, dragging other countries, including “dear Lebanon.”
“Let us raise our humble prayer to the Lord that the roar of bombs may cease, that weapons may fall silent, and that space may be opened for dialogue in which the voices of peoples can be heard,” Pope Leo said.
Speaking at the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said the conflict was fueling fear and hatred and raised concerns that it could spread further, dragging other countries, including “dear Lebanon.”
“Let us raise our humble prayer to the Lord that the roar of bombs may cease, that weapons may fall silent, and that space may be opened for dialogue in which the voices of peoples can be heard,” Pope Leo said.
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