Zardari freed after 8 years, hinting at General-PPP thaw

The husband of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was released from detention on bail today in a move that could improve relatio...

The husband of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was released from detention on bail today in a move that could improve relations between the country’s military leader Pervez Musharraf and one of its main parties.

Asif Ali Zardari had been in jail since Bhutto’s government was ousted in November 1996. He still faces legal action in connection with at least eight cases, including conspiring in the murder of Bhutto’s brother, Mir Murtaza, in September 1996.

An official of Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said Zardari had left detention in a Karachi hospital where he had been receiving treatment for various ailments.

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Zardari’s lawyer, Babur Awan, said despite the cases pending, there were no legal impediments to Zardari re-entering politics or travelling overseas. He said of the 22 cases against Zardari, he was acquitted in 14 and granted bail in seven of the eight others before today’s Supreme Court decision.

Two-time Prime Minister Bhutto, who lives in self-imposed exile in the UAE and London, issued a statement: ‘‘This morning’s verdict is a triumph of justice…Asif upheld the banner of the PPP with the courage of the bravest of the brave.’’

Courts had granted Zardari bail in all cases against him, except in the improper import of a BMW car. The Supreme Court ordered he be freed in the BMW case on bail of 1 million rupees.

‘‘This will play an important role in creating an atmosphere of reconciliation,” Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Reuters Analysts say Musharraf might be seeking reconciliation with secular parties, such as Bhutto’s, to build a consensus on his reform agenda.