RAWALPINDI - An Accountability Court (AC) Rawalpindi No 2 Saturday acquitted former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao and former deputy speaker national assembly Nawaz Khokhar from corruption charges in a land scam reference. The AC judge, however, maintained that the charges would not be dropped against four other co-accused Usman Ali, Niaz Ali, Ibadat Ali and the owner of the housing project Tahir Sarfaraz Niazi under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and the trial would be initiated against them for allegedly depriving people of their money. AC Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Younas acquitted the accused in New City Project reference after they moved an acquittal application under Section 265-K of Criminal Procedure Code, saying there was no sufficient evidence against them to prove the charges. The AC also absolved Haji Iqbal Ahmed, former director general National Highways Authority and Muhammad Zaheer Khan, former chairman State Life Insurance Company from corruption charges in the same reference under NRO. The lawyer of former interior minister maintained in the court that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had no evidence to prove that the amount allegedly transferred to the account of his client was withdrawn form the account of New City Project. A NAB prosecutor had said that the money invested in the housing society was obtained from an insurance company, therefore, the case did not fall under the ambit of NRO. The judge, however, ruled that the charges against four other co-accused Usman Ali, Niaz Ali, Ibadat Ali and the owner of the housing project Tahir Sarfaraz Niazi would not be dropped under NRO and the trial would be initiated against them for allegedly depriving people of their money.