PESHAWAR, Aug 12: An accountability appellate bench of the Peshawar High Court here on Monday dismissed an appeal of a former divisional forest officer, Forest department, Noorul Haq, and upheld his conviction by an accountability court.

The appellant was convicted by the accountability court in March this year and was sentenced to 5 years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs17.086 million.

The high court’s bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Ijazul Hassan ruled that the appellant could not prove his innocence before the trial court. Mr Haq, son of Ghulam Sarwar of Sheikh Maltoon township, district Mardan, was convicted for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, which is a crime under section 9 of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance.

During his service in the Forest department, he remained at various lucrative posts and accumulated wealth and acquired movable and immovable assets in his name and in the names of his wife and mother. His properties include: 819 kanals-07 marlas landed property; 3 plots in posh areas of district Mardan; 2 bungalows and a hujra in Mardan; 2 flour mills and a dairy farm and a fish farm; and, 3 vehicles.