PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday upheld the conviction of former Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) director general Syed Zahir Shah by an accountability court in a corruption case. He was awarded three years imprisonment and Rs11.5 million fine.

Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah Khan dismissed an ehtesab criminal appeal filed by Mr Shah against his conviction by an accountability court on Jan 20, 2010.

The bench had reserved its judgment a few days ago.

On Wednesday, it was pronounced by Justice Ikramullah Khan.

Following pronouncement of the verdict, Mr Shah was taken into custody by police.

However, he was set free when it transpired that he had earlier completed his prison term.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had charged Mr Shah of possessing assets to the tune of Rs21.5 million which was disproportionate to his known sources of income that was an offence under the NAB Ordinance of 1999.

He was arrested in early 2000 and a reference was filed against him on March 31, 2000.

He was among the first bureaucrats against whom the NAB had filed corruption reference.

Mr Shah was first convicted by an accountability court on July 17, 2000, and was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs21.5 million. His appeal was dismissed by the Peshawar High Court and his conviction was upheld.

However, the Supreme Court had partially accepted his appeal and remanded the case to the trial court with certain directives.

The Supreme Court directed the accountability court to fulfil certain legal requirements including issuance of notice to the benamidar mentioned in the case to ascertain that the properties mentioned against their names in fact belonged to Mr Shah.

The court had also ordered his release on bail.

Following its directives, the accountability court issued notices to the benamidar in the case and examined them.

After fulfilling those requirements, Judge Irshad Qaisar again convicted him in 2010.

Besides the case in question, Mr Shah was also charged in another reference wherein he was charged along with others of illegally allotting plots at Hayatabad Township.

However, he was acquitted in that case by the accountability court and that judgment was also upheld by the high court.