0
PESHAWAR, April 26: An accountability court here on Friday acquitted the former NWFP chief minister, Aftab Sherpao, in a case of illegal allotment of plots in Hayatabad township.
However, the court, presided over by Said Maroof Khan, dismissed his application for early acquittal in the reference of Ring Road scandal.
Mr Sherpao had filed application, under section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code, praying the court to acquit him prior to completion of trail against other accused in the case, as he had nothing to do with it.
In the plots case, the court observed that being the chief minister of the NWFP the accused was competent to allot plots out of his discretionary quota. “ The allotment made by him is neither illegal nor it is proved to be the result of any collusion constituting an offence punishable under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance.”
The allegation was that the accused, in the capacity of the chief minister, in collusion with Syed Zahid Shah, the then director-general, Peshawar Development Authority, had extended undue benefit to Javed Alam Khanzada, the former secretary of the Physical Planning and Housing Department, in the name of his servents.
Mr Khanzada was earlier released by the court after his plea-bargain was accepted, but Zahir Shah was fined Rs0.43 million.
The trial court observed that from the documentary record it was evident that Mr Sherpao had allotted two plots to Tila Muhammad and Ahmad Khan on June 28, 1990, and July 18, 1990, respectively. The other four plots and shops as per evidence on record were not allotted by the accused, it added. “ On the record there is no evidence showing that the allotment in favour of Tila Muhammad and Ahmed Khan was made at the instance of javed Khanzada,” the court ruled.
The subsequent transfer, the judge also ruled, by the allottees in favour of the children of Javed Khanzada, after about six years of the original allotment, was not a conclusive proof of the alleged collusion nor Mr Sherpao had played any role in this subsequent move.
In the meanwhile, about the dismissal of the application for the acquittal, Mr Sherpao and his counsel Zaffar Abbas Zaidi said that they would decide whether to move the high court or not, after going through the detailed order of the court.
The accused and his supporters were disappointed with the court verdict, as the party activists had brought garlands and drums along with them to celebrate the acquittal of their leader.
The Ring Road case is now the only case left against Mr Sherpao and unless he is allowed bail or acquitted, he would remain imprisoned.
REFERENDUM: PPP (Sherpao Group) President Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has described his faction’s support to President Gen Pervez Musharraf as genuine and in accordance with the national demands.
Speaking to a group of newsmen in the accountability court here on Friday, Mr Sherpao said: “I lauded certain steps taken by Mr Musharraf two years ago, for the surgery of the wornout socio-political system. The political support will help us (politicians) to bring the country back on democratic track.”
He denied that he was extending cooperation to the government for timely gains. It was his party’s considered opinion that the country could be steered out of present political crisis only through a process of understanding and cooperation between the government and political forces, he added.
The Sherpao Group , he said, had decided to support the referendum of April 30 in the larger interest of political stability and integrity of the country.
In reply to a question, Mr Sherpao said: “ We are symbol of unity, not polarisation. We want to unite all the old PPP stalwarts and workers under the one PPP banner— the same old party which worked for the betterment of the working class during its tenure.”
He vowed to support all positive amendments in the Political Parties Act.
