KARACHI, Jan 24: The Sindh High Court allowed an appeal moved by Hakim Ali Zardari, former MNA and father-in-law of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, and set aside his conviction in an accountability case.

The appellant was sentenced by an accountability court in July 2002 to serve five years in jail and pay a fine of Rs18.5 million. He was also disqualified from holding any public office or obtaining loans from banks.

The ex-MNA was found guilty of acquiring property, including a house in Normandy in April 1990, with ill-gotten wealth. He was accused of indulging in corrupt practices while holding public office.

The assets were concealed from the Election Commission in the declaration filed before it as well as from the income and wealth tax authorities.

Appearing for the appellant, Advocate Azizullah K. Shaikh submitted no illegality was involved in acquiring the subject property. Mr Zardari was not a pauper and owned 2,000 acres of land and valuable urban property before he entered office.

He was a director of the Eastern Federal Union Insurance Company and pawned his shares with the UBL to take a loan of Rs18.5 million. The loan was invested in forex certificates, which were later converted into US dollars to buy the subject property.

The appellant, the counsel said, had declared the property in his revised returns in 1996 filed under a general amnesty announced by the then government.