RAWALPINDI, Sept 9: The Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, set aside on Thursday the conviction of former senator Asif Ali Zardari in the Steel Mills reference directing the government to release him if he was not facing other cases.

In a short verdict, a division bench comprising justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq and Sardar Mohammad Aslam, observed that the court had set aside the decision of the accountability Court No. 1, Rawalpindi, regarding the conviction of Mr Zardari in the Steel Mills corruption reference.

The bench observed that it was acquitting Mr Zardari and that he should be immediately released if he was not facing other charges. The reasons behind the acquittal of Mr Zardari, husband of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, would be recorded in the detailed judgment.

Meanwhile, a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) spokesman said the bureau would move the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict of the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench. The appeal, he said, would be filed within 30 days.

On Sept 12, 2002, Mr Zardari had been convicted by an accountability court in the PSM reference, and sentenced to undergo seven years rigorous imprisonment and a payment of Rs40 million as fine.

According to the People's Party Parliamentarians, Mr Zardari was convicted on the same day on which he was scheduled to submit his nomination papers for one of the National Assembly seats for contesting the general elections.