PESHAWAR, April 13: An accountability court acquitted former chief secretary Khalid Aziz in an accountability reference here on Thursday.

The court presided over by Attaullah Khan accepted the application of Mr Aziz under section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code seeking acquittal before conclusion of the trial. Under the section, the trial court is empowered to acquit an accused before conclusion of the trial when the evidence is not sufficient for conviction.

The National Accountability Bureau had charged Mr Aziz with misusing his authority while he was additional chief secretary of the NWFP.

The case against Mr Aziz was about a contract awarded to M/s M. Hayat and Brothers, a furniture manufacturing concern belonging to his family since 1870. According to the charge, a Rs15 million contract awarded to the company had been embezzled as the furniture was never supplied. The trial lasted four years.

Mr Aziz was taken into custody soon after the military government assumed power in 1999. At that time, he was director-general of the Ehtesab Bureau.

Initially, he faced trial in a case about possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. In that case, he was sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment with a fine.