ISLAMABAD : Trials To Start
- Share via
Corruption trials against members of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s government are expected to begin this week in some of 11 special courts set up by the military-backed interim government which ousted her a month ago.
The government says Bhutto will also be charged, although she denies any wrongdoing and calls her dismissal illegal. She says the tribunals are “kangaroo courts” and adds that she and other members of her Pakistan People’s Party will refuse to submit to them.
The tribunals are empowered to mete out jail terms of up to seven years for “misconduct,” but their more important function appears to be blocking a Bhutto victory in new elections set for Oct. 24.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself.
Madison McGhee is joined by legendary Dateline host Josh Mankiewicz and esteemed L.A. Times Reporter Richard Winton as the three of them dive into all-things Menendez Brothers, the good, the bad, and the still unknown.
NPR climate editor Sadie Babits talks about why the media has long overlooked the climate crisis, and how that’s starting to change.
