September 02, 2008	Tuesday	Ramazan 1, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed protective bail to former provincial minister Haji Behram Khan Achakzai, who was convicted by a NAB court in a corruption reference, with a surety of Rs100,000.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Mohammad Qaim Jan Khan and Justice Chaudhry Ejaz Yousaf allowed protective bail when Senator Kamran Murtaza, the legal counsel for Haji Behram, assured the court that his client would surrender before the court on the next date of hearing if he was allowed bail.Deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had initiated the suo motu case last year on a complaint of Nayyar Iqbal regarding denial of parole to his brother, Ishfaq Khalid, when the same facility was extended to four former provincial ministers namely Haji Behram Achakzai, Mir Faiq Ali Jamali, Abdul Hafeez Luni and Nisar Ali Hazara. They were convicted in a NAB reference for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known source of income.

Behram Achakzai was awarded a sentence of 19 years in four different corruption cases with a fine of Rs34 million, Faiq Jamali was sentence to 38 years in prison in eight cases with a fine of Rs63 million, Hafeez Luni 10 years with a fine of Rs10 million while Nisar Ali Hazara was four years with a fine of Rs56 million.

The pre-November 3 emergency judiciary had also directed the four provincial governments to provide complete list of people convicted by the accountability courts on corruption but later released on parole.

The instructions were issued when it was brought to the notice of the court that despite the release these former ministers were not paying the fine money.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also issued reminders to them twice besides the provincial chief secretary was also informed about the situation through an application but no action was then taken.

On Monday, Kamran Murtaza deplored that though Mir Faiq Ali Jamali placed in the similar circumstances was released on parole, Haji Behram has been discriminated as his parole has not yet been recalled or suspended.