Nandipur case: Court to indict Pervaiz Ashraf, Babar Awan in today

An accountability court in Islamabad will indict seven accused, including former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and former law minister Babar Awan in Nandipur Power Project reference today.

Accountability Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik will resume hearing into the case.

Earlier on March 8, Babar Awan withdrew his plea seeking acquittal in the graft case.

A NAB prosecutor opposed Awan’s request to withdraw his application.

However, the court granted the plea and ruled to frame charges against him and others in Nandipur Power Project case on March 11 (today).

NAB has named former PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Babar Awan, former law secretary Riaz Kiyani, Masood Chishti, ex-consultant Shumaila Mahmood, former joint secretary Riaz Mahmood and ex-secretary Shahid Rafique as accused persons in the case.

According to NAB officials, delays in the completion of Nandipur Power Project caused the national exchequer a loss of Rs27 billion.

Earlier, the accountability judge had remarked that it has been established that the power project suffered delays as now the court has to see that the delay was caused because of Babar Awan and others or not.

Upon this, Awan said there was need to make some changes in law to make delay crime.

Defending charges against him, he said neither was he the law minister when two summaries with regard to the project were sent to the Ministry of Law nor it was his responsibility to grant approval.