Bhutto husband cleared of murder

Zardari: Cleared, but stays in jail

Asif Zardari, the husband of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has been formally acquitted of charges relating to the murder of the chairman of the state steel company.

Judge Abrar Hassan Memon in Karachi said the prosecution had failed to prove its case against Mr Zardari.

He was accused of ordering the killing of Pakistan Steel Mills' former chairman Sajjad Hussain, who was shot dead in Karachi in 1998.

No evidence is found against Mr Zardari and the prosecution has not substantiated it Judge Abrar Hussain Memon

The trial of a second accused in the case will take place later this month.

Two others are being sought in connection with the murder.

Despite the acquittal, Mr Zardari will remain in jail, where he is serving a seven-year sentence for corruption.

Corruption cases

Last week, he and his wife were convicted by a Swiss judge of laundering millions of dollars while she was in office.

Benazir Bhutto: Dogged by corruption cases

Both received six-month suspended jail terms and fines of $50,000.

The ruling ordered Ms Bhutto to return nearly $12m and a diamond necklace worth $188,000 to Pakistan.

Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari deny misappropriating the money and plan to appeal.

Mr Zardari, 49, has been in prison since 1996, when his wife's government was dismissed following allegations of corruption.

Ms Bhutto has been sentenced in absentia for corruption in Pakistan, and has been living in self-imposed exile in Britain and the United Arab Emirates since 1999.