Is Nawaz Sharief softpedalling Bhutto misdeeds?

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief's crackdown on corrupt civil servants excludes some of those who were allegedly involved in the shady deals of Asif Zardari, former premier Benazir Bhutto's husband.

This, claims the Pakistani press, indicates the Nawaz Sharief government is going to softpedal the misdeeds of Bhutto’s family, while attempting to cleanse Pakistani society of corruption. Sharief had promise to clean up government after Pakistan earned the distinction of being the secondmost corrupt country in the world during Bhutto's rule.

Newspapers quickly pointed out that some civil servants who helped Zardari and his relatives in corrupt deals have not been pulled up. For example, officials involved in one scam involving Bhutto’s father-in-law do not figure in the list of 556 officials to be axed.

Pakistan Times says the case rocked the Bhutto government in December 1995. It was alleged that contraband goods were smuggled in with the patronage of Bhutto’s father-in-law. Cases were filed against the officials involved, but they have not been punished.