LAHORE, May 14: Former Pakistan People’s Party MNA Hakim Ali Zardari was acquitted by a Lahore High Court accountability appellate bench on Tuesday.

Father-in-law of the former premier Benazir Bhutto, Zardari was accused of misusing his office as MNA and chairman of the National Assembly’s public accounts committee during 1988-90 in a series of transactions he entered into with various institutions and organizations for an abortive tourist village project planned to be set up by his Zardari Group (Pvt) Limited in the Rawalpindi National Park.

He was convicted by a Lahore accountability court under the Ehtesab Ordinance 1997, in March 2001 and was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a year-and-a-half and pay Rs20 million in fine or serve another term of the same duration.

He was also disqualified from holding any public office for 10 years. Zardari has already served out his imprisonment at his residence, which was declared a sub-jail, due to his poor health.

The LHC appellate bench, which consisted of Justices Tasaddaq Husain Jilani and Mian Saqib Nisar, ordered that the acquitted appellant be released forthwith if not wanted in any other case.

Allowing the appeal filed through Barrister M. Saleem Sahgal, the bench observed that audit reports contained no adverse observation regarding the affairs of Tourist Village (Pvt) Limited, which the Zardari Group set up in collaboration with the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, to execute the tourist village project.

No loss was caused by the impugned transactions to the PTDC, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (which leased out 4.5 acres for the project), the NDFC (which sanctioned a loan) the PSO (which was to install a petrol pump at the village) or any individual.

None of the individuals or organizations involved has moved a complaint. The prosecution, which based its case on circumstantial evidence, has failed to prove any charge, the bench observed.