October 22, 2003	Wednesday	Sha’aban 25, 1424

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PESHAWAR, Oct 21: Federal Water and Power Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao requested the Peshawar High Court on Tuesday that he should be exempted from personal appearance in a National Accountability Bureau’s appeal filed against acquittal of five persons including him and former senator Gul Sher in the Ring Road land acquisition case.

Representing Mr Sherpao, Advocate Zaffar Abbas Zaidi put forward verbal request to the bench comprising Mr Justice Tariq Pervez and Mr Justice Ijaz Afzal.

The bench directed the counsel to file a written application in that regard which would be considered by the court.

The bench accepted application of former senator Gul Sher and exempted him from personal appearance. Advocate Sattar Khan submitted an application on his behalf, stating that he was suffering from paralysis and was not in a position to appear before the court.

Sattar Khan has also raised a preliminary objection regarding maintainability of the NAB’s appeal. He stated that under the NAB Ordinance 1999 only the prosecutor general was competent to file an appeal. He stated that the post of prosecutor general was vacant for the last many months. He stated that the acting prosecutor general had no legal powers to file appeals against acquittal of any person.

As the deputy prosecutor general of NAB, Mian Fasihul Mulk, was not present on Tuesday, the bench decided to adjourned hearing of the appeal.

The high court had already admitted the NAB’s appeal for full hearing on September 13.

The appeal is filed by the National Accountability Bureau, contending that the acquittal of the five accused by an accountability court was unjustified as there were enough evidence on record against them.

The accountability court which was presided over by Said Maroof Khan on June 21 acquitted the five accused - Aftab Sherpao, Gul Sher, a former tehsildar Mosam Khan and two patwaris Dilawar and Nisar. The court observed that the prosecution could not prove its case against the accused.

The accountability court had also issued perpetual arrest warrants of five of the absconding co-accused and declared them proclaimed offenders.

 The five absconding accused - former provincial minister Habibullah Kundi, three brothers of Gul Sher namely Haji Khatam Gul, Jam Sher and Juma Sher, and a former land acquisition collector Syed Ayub Shah - have already been sentenced in absentia to three years rigorous imprisonment under section 31-A of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance 1999.

Recently, the Supreme Court had granted protective bail to Habibullah Kundi in his absence as he was abroad.

The five accused tried by the court were charged of inflicting a loss of Rs. 310.067 millions to the exchequer in connivance with the five absconding accused.