Pakistan court starts hearing case against amnesty

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Supreme Court began hearing petitions Monday against an expired amnesty that had protected President Asif Ali Zardari and key allies from graft charges in a hearing that could lead to legal challenges to the U.S.-backed leader's rule.

A ruling against Zadari — who opinion polls show to be very unpopular — risks political turmoil just as the Obama administration and other Western allies want Pakistan to redouble its fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban near the Afghan border.

The hearing in the federal capital came as a suicide bomber struck outside a court building in the main northwest city of Peshawar, killing six people and wounding 49 in a fiery reminder of the threat militants pose to the nuclear-armed country.

The 17-member bench in Islamabad started hearing petitions claiming that the amnesty list of more than 8,000 people was illegal. Civil rights activists argue that it was unjust to help so many politicians escape prosecution for alleged wrongdoing.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6756826.html