PESHAWAR, Jan 25: An accountability court here on Tuesday dismissed the application of a former MNA, Haji Naseemur Rehman, seeking acquittal in a reference about his absconding from law.

Haji Rehman, a leader of the Awami National Party, had filed the application under section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Court which empowers the trial court to acquit an accused at any stage of the case provided the evidence on record was not enough for his conviction.

The accountability court presided over by Miftauddin Khan observed that the applicant did not deserve to be acquitted at this stage of the trial. The court has been trying the accused under section 31-A of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999, under which a person absconding from law can be awarded up to three years in prison.

The applicant was required by the NAB in a reference pertaining to the possession of illegal assets. Despite court notices, he did not turn up which led to another reference against him under section 31-A. In the main reference, he has already been acquitted by the accountability court.

Haji Rehman was initially convicted by the accountability court in absentia and sentenced to three years imprisonment on April 2, 2001. The Peshawar High Court had upheld that judgment. However, on the order of the Supreme Court the case was returned back to the PHC in 2003. The high court then set aside his conviction and remanded back the case to the accountability court for retrial.