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Bhutto deal challenged

Pakistan's Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear legal challenges against a controversial government deal that gives former prime minister Benazir Bhutto an amnesty on graft charges.

The court accepted five petitions against the ordinance, which was signed by President Pervez Musharraf a week ago and provides an amnesty for politicians charged with graft between 1985 and 1999.

Bhutto is set to return home on Thursday after spending eight years in self-imposed exile to avoid corruption charges against her and her husband Asif Ali Zardari.

The court's move means that the amnesty deal stands for now, but that those who have cases dropped under the deal could find themselves facing the charges again if the ordinance is found to be unconstitutional.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party had no comment on the decision.
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