Rental power project case : NAB gets physical remand of former AJK president’s son

Zulqarnain facing corruption charges, misuse of authority

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Friday granted six-day physical remand of former Azad Jammu and Kashmir president’s son Raja Babar Ali Zulqarnain to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the rental power project (RPP) case.

Accountability Court Judge Nisar Baig sent the suspect on physical remand after officials of the anti-graft body produced him before the court. Zulqarnain was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on January 21 following the dismissal of his bail application in the RPP case.

According to the anti-graft body, Zulqarnain, who is also an elected member of the AJK Legislative Assembly, made the contractual arrangement between the federal government and the company for electricity supply through ship-mounted power facility.

He was appointed to act as a local representative for the Karkey Karadeniz Elektrik Uretim - a Turkish company which set up a power plant onboard a ship berthed at the Karachi port - to provide electricity to the national grid and logistical support to the visiting representatives of the company.

When NAB launched a probe into the rental power projects on allegations of corruption and misuse of authority, Zulqarnain and 27 others were investigated, following which the anti-graft body submitted a reference in the accountability court.

NAB had directed Zulqarnain to provide details of remuneration and any other payments from the company into his bank account, records of taxes paid on payments received, his employment contract with the company, and details of meeting held with government officials on behalf of the company.

Earlier, Zulqarnain’s counsel Asim Hafeez had informed a division bench of the IHC that his client had incurred expenses on behalf of the company for meeting local expenses and the establishment of a local office, and the same were reimbursed.

He said that no decision-making role or responsibility was assigned to Zulqarnain and he did not participate in the decision-making process. “My client simply acted as a liaison officer,” Hafeez said.

Hafeez had alleged that the NAB coerced Zulqarnain to become a friend of the prosecution, which was an unacceptable condition for him, adding that he, however, intended to contest the reference on merit.

Following the arguments, the division bench comprising Justices Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had dismissed his pre-arrest bail application as well as another petition that sought to restrain NAB from “harassing and humiliating” him by issuing call-up notices.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd,  2016.