February 25, 2003	Tuesday	Zul Hijjah 23, 1423

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PESHAWAR, Feb 24: The judicial magistrate, Asghar Ali Shah, here on Monday expressed his inability to try federal minister for Water and Power, Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, in a case against him.

The presiding officer sent the file to the district and sessions judge, Hayat Ali Shah, requesting him to transfer the case to any other court.

Mr Sherpao is accused of illegal exit from the country after the military takeover when his arrest warrants were issued by the chairman National Accountability Bureau in 2000.

Advocate Mohammad Tariq Afridi appeared for Mr Sherpao and expressed his confidence in the court. However, the presiding officer considered it appropriate to send the case back to the sessions judge.

Mr Shah observed that during the last hearing some of the newspapers had misreported the proceedings which might have created differences between him and the defendant. “In such situation he consider it necessary not to hear this case and send it to the sessions judge,” he observed.

Mr Afridi said that there was no differences between the defendant and the presiding officer and they had no objection over his continuation with this case.

Some of the newspapers had reported that the presiding officer had expressed annoyance over the non-appearance of Mr Sherpao during the proceedings. The presiding officer stated that he had never expressed annoyance on that date as the accused was already exempted from personal appearance.

Mr Sherpao was charged in an FIR by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Passport Cell on Jan 6, 2002, the day when Mr Sherpao returned to Pakistan after ending his two-year self exile.

He was charged under section 4 of the Exit Control List Act and section 3/4 of the Passport Act. The FIA had claimed that Mr Sherpao had left the country through an unauthorised route which was a crime under the law.

Last year the court had granted bail to Mr Sherpao on condition of furnishing two sureties of Rs1,00,000 each. The present presiding officer had fixed Monday for framing of charge against the accused, Mr Sherpao.