The Accountability Court in Islamabad Monday adjourned the indictment of the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in the Nooriabad Power Plant corruption reference.
The co-accused Shazia Jaffer submitted the acquittal plea in the court. The court read out the acquittal verdict of the Todero reference against the former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.
Sindh CM and other co-accused appeared before the accountability court. AC Court Judge Syed Ashgar heard the case. The NAB lawyer presented details of the 45 banks and as per report the accused got no bank account.
The defense counsel said that the lawyer of Niaz Ali Sheikh was not able to appear before the court. Lawyer Arshad Tabraiz said that the accused had submitted an acquittal plea in which they have challenged the reference against them.
As per reports, Nooriabad power plant reference alleged that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah issued funds for power projects in Sindh in violation of rules and that billions of rupees were embezzled in the Nooriabad Power Company and the Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company projects.
The Nooriabad Project was originally envisaged by the Sindh government in 2012 but it could not materialise then due to multiple delays in regulatory approvals and it was finally launched in August 2014 under a public-private partnership (PPP) at a cost of Rs13 billion.
Murad Ali Shah addressing the media outside the Accountability Court in Islamabad lashed at the Prime Minister Imran Khan government and claimed that masses wanted to get rid of the premier.
Murad Ali Shah said that cabinet ministers were looking for people in Sindh (to get support). He said Imran Khan would say nothing new in his today’s (Monday) address to the nation. INP
