No respite: Court rejects bail plea of former PESCO chief

Shah allegedly received Rs130m for supplying electricity to an Afghan refugee camp

PESHAWAR: An anti-corruption court rejected the bail plea of former Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) chief executive officer on Monday.

Former CEO Pervez Akhtar Shah was detained on charges of allowing illegal electricity connections to an Afghan refugee camp.

Judge Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan was informed by the prosecution counsel that Afghan refugee Dost Muhammad had approached the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), reporting the corruption of Shah. The court was further informed the federal government supplied electricity to the refugee camp through an agreement which expired in 2012.



The applicant allegedly met the accused in Rahatabad near University of Peshawar and agreed upon the resumption of supply against a bribe of Rs130 million.

The prosecution counsel added the said amount was not paid to the company, rather deposited in Shah’s personal account. The supply was resumed once the money was paid.

After receiving the application, FIA started investigation against Shah under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act which allows the agency to probe into the misconduct of a public servant.

After hearing the arguments, the court rejected the bail application of the accused. Shah was arrested on January 13 and is in judicial custody ever since.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.