PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Courton Tuesday granted balltoformer provincial minister Makhdoom Mureed Kazim, Abdul Wali Khan University Vice-Chancellor Professor Ihsan Ali and seven others arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the charges of misuse of authority and corrupt practices.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Irshad Qaiser pronounced short orders in all these cases asking petitioners to produce surety bonds of different amounts of money.

Suspect Makhdoom Mureed Kazim, who was the provincial minister for revenue in the previous provincial government, and district officer (revenue) Riaz Mohammad, were arrested on Aug 3 by the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on charge of illegal transfer of precious government land to the Naval Families Rehabilitation Organisation (NFRO) as alternate land to the one allotted earlier.

They were granted bail on condition of furnishing two surety bonds valuing Rs2 million each.

Similarly, the court granted interim bail to Professor Ihsan Ali, who is also former vice-chancellor ofHazara University, former VC of Hazara University Dr Sakhawat Shah and former registrar of the university Muqarib Khan.

They were arrested on Sept 15 on the charge of giving affiliation to an illegal medical educational institution in Abbottabad.

The court ordered the ñxing ofthe cases after 10 days.

It also granted ball to four officials accused of illegally awarding lucrative mining contract to a female schoolteacher.

Those who were granted bail include additional secretary of mines department Asmatullah Gandapur, who was serving as commissioner Bannu Division, senior inspector of mines Ziarat Khan, section officer Farhad Ali and assistant director (litigation) Pervez Khan.

In the case, former provincial minister for mines Mahmood Zeb is the prime suspect. Bail petitions of Mahmood Zeb and his alleged front man, Ehtishamul Mulk, were adjourned to Oct 1.

On that date, the court will also hear the bail petition of the then mines secretary, Shah Wali Khan, who is also in custody in the case.

Advocates Sattar Khan and Asghar Kundi appeared for Mureed Kazim and contended that allegation against their client was that he in connivance with officials of revenue department were involved in illegal transfer of valuable state land measuring 1976 kanals of land situated in Dera Ismail Khan as alternate land to NFRO in 2010 and subsequently unlawful transfer of 182 kanals of residential land to ofñcials of revenue department as kickbacks.They said the NAB`s claim that the petitioner as a minister had overstepped his authority as it was the domain of the chief minister to allow the said summary regarding provision of alternate land to NFRO, was not based on facts as under the Rules of Business it was the authority of the relevant department.

NAB deputy prosecutor general Jamil Khan said the NFRO had also allotted 50 kanals of land to one Syed Atta Hussain, who was the front man of Mureed Kazim. He added that the said person had returned back the said land as voluntary return.

Meanwhile, Qazi Mohammad Anwar and Abdul Lateef Afridi, lawyers for Dr Ihsan Ali, Dr Sakhawat Shah and Muqarab Khan, said their clients were academicians and that there was no possibility of their becoming absconders and therefore, they should be freed on interim bail.

They added that even the NAB had not sought physical custody of their clients, who were sent on judicial remand straightaway.

Similarly, Qazi Jawad Ahsanullah, Ishtiaq Ibrahim, Aamir Javed and Aamir Ali Khan represented the four officials of mines and mineral development department, who were granted bailby the court.

They said their respective clients were arrested on flimsy grounds as they were not authorised to grant the said lease.

Despite repeated queries made by the bench, the NAB prosecutors failed to give convincing arguments.

The bench even expressed annoyance observing that the prosecutors had not properly assisted it in those cases.