PESHAWAR, Jan 29: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court on Wednesday granted bail to a former senator from tribal areas, Haji Gul Sher.

The bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervaiz and Justice Shahjehan  Khan directed that the appellant should be released after furnishing three sureties of Rs five million each, to the satisfaction of the registrar of the high court.

The appellant has been facing trial along with federal minister  for water and power, Aftab Sherpao, and three other accused in the Ring Road land acquisition case. Mr Sherpao has already been granted bail in the case, last year, by the high court.

Advocate Nusrat Yasmeen appeared for the appellant and argued that in a number of cases the Supreme Court had allowed bail to the applicants on the ground of delay in conclusion of trial. She contended that the appellant had also been suffering from various ailments, including paralysis and heart disease.

She referred to the judgments of the apex court in the cases of Anwer Saifullah Khan, Haji Ghulam Ali and Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali,  arguing that in these cases the apex court had clearly pronounced that bail could be granted on the ground of delay.

She said that the applicant was arrested on April 19, 2001,  and the said reference was filed against him on Sep 11, 2001. She  added that no proceedings could take place in the reference since   Dec 23, 2002, as the tenure of the concerned accountability court’s presiding officer ended on that date and the case had not been referred to any other court. She stated that under section 16 of the National  Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999, the trial of a case should be concluded within 30 days of the commencement of the trial.

In the present case, five of the accused are facing trial, whereas five others have been absconding. The accused facing the trial are, Gul Sher, Aftab Sherpao, a former tehsildar, Mosam Khan, and patwaris, Nisar Mohammad and Dilawar Khan. The absconding accused are, a former provincial minister, Habibullah Kundi, three brothers  of Gul Sher, Haji Khatam Gul, Jam Sher and Juma Sher, and a former land acquisition collector, Syed Ayub Shah.

The accused are charged with inflicting a loss of Rs310.067 million to the exchequer in connivance with the absconding accused. The charge-sheet against them states that they had fraudulently got fixed compensation of the land, situated in Mahal Lala Ahmad and Saloo village, Peshawar Tehsil, at exorbitant rates, which was a crime under the NAB Ordinance.