Former PM gets relief: Accountability Court sends six RPP cases back to NAB

ISLAMABAD: Another Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Tuesday obtained relief from an Accountability Court after the court sent six Rental Power Project (RPP) cases against him and others back to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in view of the amendments made by the coalition government to the NAB law.

Judge of Accountability Court-III Syed Asghar Ali announced the judgement he had reserved on the plea filed by Mr Ashraf and others, in which they had challenged the territorial jurisdiction of the court under the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act, 2022.

The court sent the RPP cases, including those about Reshma Power Generation in Raiwind, Gulf Rental Power (Pvt) Ltd, Sumandri, and Rato Dero projects as well as Satiana back to NAB.

The court declared that the instant references did not fall under the ambit of the court after promulgation of the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act, 2022. The court returned the files of the references to NAB for placing the matter before the appropriate forums.

On Sept 7, 2022, judge of the Accountability Court-I Muhammad Bashir had sent back the Kidney Hills corruption case against PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla and others to NAB due to amendments in the NAB law.

The bureau had filed 12 RPP references, including those about the Turkish ship-mounted power plant (Karkey), Piranghaib Power Plant, Multan, Sahiwal Power Plant, Guddu Power Plant in Sindh, Naudero-I Power Plant in Sindh, Naudero-II Power Plant in Sindh, Reshma Power Generation in Raiwind, Young Gen Power Ltd, Bhikki, Gulf Rental Power (Pvt) Ltd, 150MW Sharaqpur RPP, and Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco).

Out of the 12 cases, the Accountability Court, Islamabad, acquitted Mr Ashraf and others in two cases, while the Accountability Court, Lahore, acquitted him and others in the Gepco case.

The RPP cases first came to the Supreme Court’s attention when former federal minister Faisal Saleh Hayat issued a press statement on Sept 8, 2009, calling upon the court to take notice of what he alleged were financial irregularities and corruption on a massive scale.

Mr Hayat was then directed to furnish evidence to support his accusations. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif also joined the proceedings by filing an identical petition against corruption and mismanagement in RPPs.

The apex court, in January 2013, ordered NAB to arrest Mr Ashraf, who served as water and power minister from March 2008 to February 2011, along with the other accused.

The other accused are former federal ministers Liaqat Ali Khan Jatoi, and Tariq Hamid, former federal minister for finance Shaukat Tareen, former secretaries for water and power Shahid Rafi, Muhammad Ismail Qureshi and Ishfaq Mehmood, former finance secretary Salman Siddique, former chairmen of NEPRA Khalid Saeed, and Lt Gen Saeeduz Zafar (retd), Chief Executive Officer of Generation Company Yousaf Ali, former managing directors of the Private Power & Infrastructure Board Khalid Irfan Rahman, Fayyaz Elahi, and Yousaf Memon, former MDs of Pakistan Electric Power Company Tahir Basharat Cheema, and Munawar Baseer Ahmad, and CEOs of PEPCO Muhammad Arif Saleem, Fazal Ahmad Khan, and Chaudhary Muhammad Anwar.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022