ISLAMABAD: The Accountability Court Monday fixed December 7 for indictment of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal and others in the Narowal Sports City Complex Project (NSCCP) scam. The Accountability Court-III judge, Syed Ali Asghar, while hearing the case, fixed December 7th for framing of charges against Iqbal and other accused of the NSCCP scam.

The court marked attendance of all the accused, and directed all the accused persons to ensure their presence before it during the next hearing. The other accused of the scam includes former director general (DG) Sport Board Akhtar Nawaz, Sarfaraz Rasool of the Pakistan Sport Board, Asif Sheikh, and a private contractor, Muhammad Ahmed.

The court also issued directives to provide copies of the reference to all the accused. Talking to media after appearing before the Accountability Court, Ahsan Iqbal said that in the manner NAB made cases against him and other opposition leaders following the direction of PM Imran Khan, it has become a joke.

He said that all institutions come under PM Imran Khan, and he should prove corruption against him. As many as Rs32 billion had been released by his ministry, when he was minister for development work, he will be a convict, if even corruption of only Rs32 were proved against him, he said.

He further said that the NSCCP had been approved by all the relevant forums. He said the government has a "hidden agenda" as it wanted to give cover to those who built Kartarpur Corridor. As many as Rs17 billion were spent on Kartarpur project but neither its PC-1 was approved and nor it was approved from any relevant forum, he said.

Iqbal said that Rs400 billion corruption has surfaced in sugar and flour scandal. He said that due to an irresponsible statement of the Minister for Aviation and the Prime Minister, the Aviation industry in the country has collapsed. He said that a committee has been constituted in Punjab, which consists of representatives from four agencies with an agenda to make false cases against the PML-N leaders.

If this practice was not abandoned, then they would be forced to reveal the names of those who are behind this all, he further said. The NAB has filed the NSCCP reference against Ahsan Iqbal, former Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms (PD&R) and other accused on November 18th. The reference has been filed in connection with the NSCCP in which accused Iqbal misused his authority to illegally enhance the scope of project from Rs34.75 million to Rs2,994 million approx.

According to the NAB, the NSCCP, formerly known as Sports Stadium Narowal was initially conceived in 1999 on the directions of accused, Iqbal without any feasibility study. The project was initially approved at the cost of Rs34.74 million by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) headed by the accused Iqbal. In the same year i.e. 1999, accused Iqbal illegally directed the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the NESPAK to enhance the scope of the project.

Accordingly, the scope was enhanced as per the said directions and resulted in enhancement in the cost of the project to the tune of Rs97.52 million. Accused Iqbal not only enhanced the scope of the project but also personally identified land for the NSC project and provided specific Khasra numbers to the PSB to acquire the land identified by him.

The project was shelved in the year 1999 by the PSB on the directions of the Ministry of PD&R, on the grounds that the NSC project did not have the requisite weight-age with respect to economic necessity. The project was again started in year 2009 and approved at the cost of Rs732 million. However, the project was devolved to government of Punjab in 2011, after the 18th constitutional amendment.

When accused Iqbal took over the charge of minister PD&R in 2013, he illegally directed officials of his ministry to include NSC project in Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2013-2014, which was not included in the draft PSDP 2013-14 as it was a devolved project, and was also reflected in the Annual Development Program (ADP) 2013-14 of government of Punjab.

Accused Iqbal by misusing his authority, hijacked the provincial project in violation of 18th constitutional amendment, and the Council of Common Interests (CCI)'s decision on April 28, 2011, with ulterior motives and made huge wasteful expenditure from the federal government exchequer.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020