This refers to the news report, ‘Zardari exonerated for want of evidence’ (November 25). The SGS and Cotecna references were made in 1998 against Asif Zardari. It took 17 long years for the court to give this decision and acquit him honourably due to lack of evidence. The late Benazir Bhutto was also accused in these references, but her name was taken off after her death. The verdict proves that Asif Zardari and the PPP were politically victimised by the PML-N. Democratic governments should stop victimising their rivals by implicating them in false cases. This vicious cycle needs to end. Javaid Bashir Lahore ***** Tons of papers in the SGS and Cotecna references lay in Geneva and were shown on television being moved by the former UK HC, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, only to be displaced. As a result, that vital evidence is now lost. Since 1998, various governments have used these references as a tool for political blackmail. They never had the will to punish criminals because nobody wants to set a precedent for a high-profile white collar crime to be carried to its legal conclusion. When references are filed with numerous charges, the stage is set to have a mistrial by design. If ever there is a will to punish an individual who has pilfered several billions of rupees, all the state has to do is pick one solid case with irrefutable evidence and convict criminals, like in the trial of Al Capone and Leona Helmsley in the US. Ali Malik Tariq Lahore
