Pakistan files new cases against ex-premiers, president

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's anti-corruption authorities on Monday filed a fresh corruption case against the country's former president and two prime ministers, court records showed.

The move by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is being viewed by political observers as an extension to an ongoing crackdown against the opposition parties.

Former President Asif Zardari and former premiers Nawaz Sharif and Yousaf Raza Gilani are accused of illegally keeping the vehicles gifted by foreign states and dignitaries.

The corruption reference filed in the accountability court alleged that Gilani, who served as premier from 2008 to 2012, relaxed rules allowing Sharif and Zardari to keep the vehicles against a nominal amount.

Three-time premier Sharif, who has already been disqualified and sentenced to 17 years in jail in two corruption cases that stemmed from the 2016 Panama papers, is currently in London for medical treatment. He is out on bail.

Zardari, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, is also out on bail on medical grounds.