A multimillion-dollar scandal involving financial cooperatives run by members of Pakistan's ruling party has put the government on the defensive and given opposition leader Benazir Bhutto a chance to settle old scores.
Bhutto Monday started a two-day tour of Punjab cities to try to harness the anger of tens of thousands of small depositors who fear their life savings are at risk.Aides called the scandal a great opportunity for Bhutto to attack the government's financial probity following her own dismissal a year ago on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
The provincial government in Punjab, where the cooperatives are based, countered by ordering ministers to stay in their constituencies to help voters get their money back.
Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz announced an investigation into the cooperatives over the weekend after several operating as quasi-banks without permission stopped paying their depositors or sought government help.
A committee would audit the assets of these institutions and "judiciously distribute them to depositors," he told reporters.
Two of the biggest cooperatives - National Industrial Cooperative Finance Corporation and Services Credit Cooperative Corporation - are owned by members of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ruling Islamic Democratic Party.