ISLAMABAD   -  The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday granted time to National Accountability Bu[1]reau (NAB) for appointment of prosecutor in its appeal against trial court’s verdict for acquitting the PPP’s co-chairman in two ref[1]erences pertaining to polo ground and Ur[1]sus Tractors. A divisional bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamer Farooq conducted hearing on NAB appeals wherein it had already sought the referenc[1]es record against Asif Ali Zardari from the accountability court which had acquitted the accused. During the hearing, NAB pros[1]ecutor Nasir Mehmood appeared before the court and informed the bench that the re[1]cord has been sent to NAB headquarters for the appointment of prosecutor in this case. Therefore, he requested the bench to ad[1]journ the hearing. Acceding to his plea, the IHC bench deferred the hearing in this mat[1]ter for two weeks. NAB had stated in its appeal that the trial court had no powers to acquit the accused in corruption case. The anti-graft body had challenged the acquittal of Zardari by an ac[1]countability court in two references in 2014. NAB had moved the IHC through its pros[1]ecutor general and challenged AC decision in which it had acquitted Zardari in two cor[1]ruption references including polo ground and Ursus tractors corruption references. Earlier, Accountability Court (AC) Islam[1]abad had acquitted former President Asif Ali Zardari in two corruption cases as the NAB failed to give any proof and produce any witness. The counsel for the former president had contended before the court that the main accused in these references had already been acquitted, so a co-accused could not be tried and should be acquitted under the NAB Ordinance, 1999. NAB prosecutor contended that the court’s decision was based on presump[1]tions and conjectures which had no value in the eyes of the law. Therefore, he prayed to the court to set aside the said judgment of AC which exon[1]erated former president from the charges of corruption in these two references. Prosecutor further prayed to the court that accused may be sentenced in accor[1]dance with the law and for the larger inter[1]est of justice as overwhelming evidence is available against him. The NAB also highlighted in the appeal that the LHC’s deputy registrar judicial in a letter dated Feb 19, 2000, explicitly stated that Ehtesab Bench sent the original record and all the related documents to the Su[1]preme Court in another appeal filed by the accused seeking acquittal in this case. How[1]ever, instead of summoning the original re[1]cord from the superior judiciary, the trial court opted to reject the appeal. The prosecutor adopted that without summoning the original record and docu[1]ments from the apex court, the accountabil[1]ity court proceeded to pass the acquittal or[1]der on an application moved by the accused under Section 265-K of the Criminal Proce[1]dure Code (CrPC) which empowers the trial court to exonerate the accused at any stage. The polo ground reference was built upon the construction of a polo ground along with ancillary works at the Prime Minister House, which NAB said were illegal and in violation of the rights and privileges that were afforded to Zardari. The reference filed in 2000 alleged that the polo ground at the Prime Minister House was constructed during the second tenure of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on the verbal orders of her husband Asif Ali Zardari to CDA chairmen Saeed Mehdi and Shafi Sehwani at an estimat[1]ed cost of Rs52.29 million. Another refer[1]ence, which pertains to the Ursus tractors deal, alleged misappropriation in the pur[1]chase of 5,900 Russian and Polish tractors for the Awami Tractor Scheme. The court had acquitted the co-accused, Nawab You[1]suf Talpur and AH Kango. The Ursus trac[1]tors purchase deal allegedly caused a loss of Rs268.3 million to ADBP and Rs1.67 billion to the State Bank of Pakistan