PESHAWAR, June 7: An accountability court on Saturday reserved its judgment in the Ring Road land acquisition reference against federal minister for water and power Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, former senator Gul Sher and three others.

The court, presided over by Said Maroof Khan, fixed June 21 for pronouncing the verdict.

The accused also included Mosam Khan, a former tehsildar, and two patwaris, Dilawar and Nisar.

Five of the co-accused were still absconding, including former provincial minister Habibullah Kundi, three brothers of Gul Sher namely Haji Khatam Gul, Jam Sher and Juma Sher, and a former land acquisition collector, Syed Ayub Shah. They have already been sentenced in absentia to three years rigorous imprisonment.

The five accused had been charged with inflicting a loss of Rs310.067 million to the exchequer in connivance with the absconding accused.

The charge sheet against them stated that they had fraudulently gotten the compensation for the land situated in Mahal Lala Ahmad and Saloo village in Peshawar tehsil at exagerated rates. Their alleged act is a crime under Section 9 of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance 1999 and punishable under Section 10 of the said act.