KARACHI: An anti-corruption court yesterday issued arrest warrants for a former Pakistani prime minister and a member of his cabinet for repeatedly failing to appear before a judge hearing corruption charges against them.
Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was prime minister from 2008 to 2012, along with ex-commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim have been accused of granting billions of rupees (tens of millions of dollars) in freight subsidies to fake trading companies run by front men.
The charges carry a jail term of up to seven years as well as fines.
Judge Mohammad Azeem of the federal anti-corruption court in the port city Karachi issued the orders after Gilani and Fahim did not appear yesterday and in previous hearings.
The judge later adjourned the case till June 17, a court official said. Both Gilani and Fahim are senior leaders of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, which ruled from 2008-2013 but suffered a heavy defeat in the country’s first democratic handover of power. AFP
