LAHORE   -   An accountability court on Thursday acquitted Asif Hashmi, former Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) chairman, and eight other accused in two illegal appointments references. Accountability Court Judge Aziz Ullah announced the verdict while allowing acquittal applications of accused. The court had reserved the verdict after hearing arguments of parties and it was announced on Thursday. The National Accountability Bureau had filed the references and alleged that the accused appointed various persons in ETPB while violating the merit. It is pertinent to mention here that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had filed various cases against Asif Hashmi who served as ETPB chairman between 2008 and 2013. Asif Hashmi had obtained bail in the NAB cases, but he was still under judicial custody in the FIA cases.