November 28, 2008	Friday	Ziqa'ad 29, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Nov 27: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has decided not to seek any relief under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in two corruption cases filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and will get his appeals against conviction in the cases decided on merit.

Bashir Kiani, the lawyer for Mr Gilani, told the Islamabad High Court on Thursday that his client would have like the appeals against his conviction in the two references decided on merit, instead of invoking indemnity under the NRO.

The NAB prosecutor general, on the other hand, said in the court that the cases filed by the bureau came under the ambit of NRO and if the appellant’s lawyer liked to argue in the case, NAB would defend the conviction.

IHC Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Aslam put off hearing in the appeals till Dec 4.

Mr Gilani has challenged his conviction by an accountability court in Rawalpindi in two corruption references. On Sept 18, 2004, he was sentenced to 10-year imprisonment with a fine of Rs5 million. He was to undergo another five years of imprisonment in case he failed to pay the fine.

The NAB had prosecuted Mr Gilani in the cases of violating rules while inducting several people on different government posts and misusing official vehicles and telephones in his capacity as the speaker of the National Assembly. The references were filed in 2001 and Mr Gilani was arrested on Feb 10 the same year.

A division bench of the Lahore High Court in Rawalpindi comprising Justice Abdul Shakoor Paracha and Justice Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah suspended the conviction of Mr Gilani and granted him bail on surety bonds of Rs5 million on Oct 15, 2006.

The appeals of Mr Gilani had been shifted to the IHC after the new high court was established in the federal capital in November last year.