July 10, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 6, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 9: The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao in three corruption references by giving benefit of the National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007 (NRO).

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Chaudhry Ejaz Yousaf and Justice Sheikh Hakim Ali had taken up the appeals moved by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the Peshawar High Court order of exonerating Aftab Sherpao and Zahir Shah, former director-general of Peshawar Development Authority, from the corruption charges in which they were convicted earlier by the accountability court.

The apex court however adjourned the hearing of a fourth reference concerning the Ring Road land acquisition case for Thursday due to unavailability of record with a direction to NAB to submit complete evidence. He was accused of inflicting a loss of Rs310.067 million to the state exchequer by fraudulently fixing compensation of the land acquired for the Ring Road project at inflated rates.

Aftab Sherpao, who also served as the NWFP chief minister, was convicted by the accountability court in the famous Hayatabad Plot Allotment Case on December 31, 1999, but his appeal was later accepted by the PHC which acquitted him. Consequently, NAB came into appeal before the apex court against the acquittal.

The charge against Aftab Sherpao was that being a chief minister he abused his discretion by illegally allotting plots in the Hayatabad Township Scheme. He was also acquitted in another reference pertaining to illegal appointments in the frontier education department.

On Wednesday, Dr Danishwar Malik, prosecutor general NAB, argued that the corruption references against Aftab Sherpao and Zahir Shah in which they had been convicted did not fall under the NRO. He stated that both of them were sentenced by the accountability court on January 27, 1997 for misusing their authority in allocation of plots. Investigation against them is still under process, he added.

The legal counsel representing Aftab Sherpao stated that the case against Sherpao fell in the ambit of NRO, therefore, he should be given relief under the ordinance. Promulgated by President Pervez Musharraf on October 5, 2007, the ordinance was issued on the demand of slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto to provide amnesty to public office holders charged in different corruption cases between 1986 to 1999.

As a result of the apex court order, corruption charges against PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, MQM members and adviser on interior Rehman Malik were withdrawn.