Contrary to Benazir Bhutto's public posture of clearing her name from allegations of $13.8 million money laundering case pending against her before the Swiss Court, she was using all tactics to delay the proceedings, said a British lawyer.
Jeremy P Carver (CBE) Consultant Head of International Law Group, who was in Geneva during the closed-door hearing of the money laundering case against former Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party, Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari before the Swiss Court in Geneva last week, was briefing reporters at a local hotel here on Monday.
Swiss Magistrate Christine Junod is currently hearing money laundering case against Benazir and Asif for allegedly stashing away millions of dollar kickbacks in Swiss banks as Benazir for the first time appeared before the Swiss court last week.
He said that Benazir publicly claimed that she wanted to clear her name but she was in fact making every effort to delay the case. Her appeal to exclude Pakistan from hearing her testimony was odd: "did she want to hide her testimony? Or was a move simply to delay the proceedings, with no relevance for the charges against her?" Bhutto's first attempt in this regard was thrown out by the Swiss court, as were all her appeals against the decision.
Carver said Pakistan was entitled to hear the case as the people of Pakistan had a vital interest in it.
Fielding a question on the further proceedings of the case, Carver said there were two things to be done. One was to interrogate Benazir and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari which had declined the offer of the Pakistani authorities to fly him to Switzerland to appear before the court and argued that he was too ill to do so. Asif did not come to appear before the Swiss court when the date was fixed earlier this year, said Carver.
Carver said alternatively the Swiss Judge hearing the against Benazir and Asif Ali Zardari "may come to Pakistan and interrogate him now."
"I think she is quite impatient, she wants to get on with this and if she goes to Pakistan, she may go in the next few weeks," said Jeremy Carver.
Answering a question he said the Swiss Attorney General had been seizing the case for several years and was "ready to go - he was just waiting for Madame Junod."
If the Judge promoted, the investigation magistrate would pass on the files from one to another as all the work was done. The job then passed to the attorney general who actually brought the prosecution in the court and that was why he was present for the hearing in Geneva last week, he said.
The Swiss Attorney General was able to say, "I have completed the investigation, the indictment is good and I will now present to the court," and then the judges in conjunction with a Jury would hear the case, said the British lawyer.
To a question, he said it Swiss court had announced its decision against Benazir and issued an "Extradition Warrant" she could be arrested anywhere in the world - specially it would be effective in the European Union countries.
"She could be arrested on the warrant here and immediately shipped to Switzerland," he said.
Questioned if she did not turn up before the Swiss court and instead presented a medical certificate, Jeremy said the judges in Pakistan were more tolerant of those things than the Swiss judges.
Answering a question Carver said if Benazir had not appealed against the decision of the Swiss Court sentencing her to six months suspended imprisonment last year, the USD 12 million assets would have been transferred to Pakistan.
PPP Chairperson had been indicted by the Swiss court on more serious charges last week which carried a sentence of up to five years rigorous imprisonment, a fine of one million Swiss francs and forfeiture of her assets as well, said Carver who had represented Pakistan against Benazir's involvement in money laundering cases in the late 1990's.