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Benazir indicted in illegal recruitment case

A Pakistani court on Tuesday indicted former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her several aides in connection with allegations of illegal recruitment into the Pakistan International Airlines.

Bhutto, her political secretary Naheed Khan, former chairman of PIA Air Vice Marshal Farooq Omar and others were accused of sanctioning more than 1,300 illegal appointments with the national carrier.

The lawyer of the main opposition leader, who is currently out of the country, pleaded not guilty before the Ehtesab (accountability) bench of the Sind high court which passed the indictment orders.

Bhutto faces corruption charges in several Pakistani courts. She denies what she calls the ''politically motivated'' accusations ''orchestrated,'' by the government led by her arch-rival and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief.

Bhutto's three-year old government was dismissed in November 1996 mainly on charges of corruption.

UNI

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