PESHAWAR, June 5: An accountability court on Wednesday reserved its judgment over the objection petitions filed by the former chief minister, Aftab Sherpao, and his family members against freezing of their property by the court.

The court, presided over by Attaullah Khan, heard arguments of Zafar Abbas Zaidi, who represented the petitioners. The court had ordered freezing of all the movable and immovable property of Mr Sherpao, his wife, and four children.

Advocate Zaidi said the freezing orders were issued under section 12 of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999. He said that under the said section, property of an accused, and not his family members’, could be frozen.

Moreover, he stated that under section 89 of the CrPC if a person appeared before the court within two years of the attachment of his property and satisfied the court that he did not abscond then such property had to be delivered to him.

He added that Mr Sherpao had already been acquitted by the high court in the case regarding his absconding and now there was no justification for freezing his property.