Updated on
Summary
Swiss authorities claim they did not receive any request from Pakistani government to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.Swiss Prosecutor-General Daniel Zappelli said that he did not receive any request from Pakistani authorities on the issue although in any case President Zardari enjoys immunity from prosecution as a head of state.Zappelli added that Pakistan's embassy in Switzerland had officially notified him in June 2008 of a decision by Pakistan's prosecutor-general in April of that year to withdraw proceedings against Zardari. He said that Pakistan's prosecutor-general had decided that the contracts at the heart of the kickbacks case had been awarded in good faith.In Pakistan they decided that no crime had been committed, he said.In any case under international law Zardari enjoyed immunity from prosecution as a head of state - unless that state itself lifts the immunity.
